e-DIGICAN in Côte d’Ivoire

Cancer is a global public health problem. Sub–Saharan Africa, like all resource–limited countries, hosts over three–quarters of the world‘s new cases. Ivory Coast is in epidemiological transition with the burden of infectious diseases relatively stable while the burden of non–communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer, continues to grow.

The Abidjan Cancer Registry (CAR), which aims to collect cancer cases from the various public and private health structures involved in the diagnosis and/or treatment of cancer, faces logistical, human, and financial challenges. These challenges make the collection of data retrospective and do not provide real–time data for patient follow–up.

This is why a pilot project to digitise data collection within the RCA is being studied at the cancer unit of the Treichville University Hospital and CNRAO (Inshira project) in order to have real–time data and facilitate decision–making.

The INSHIRA oncology platform is a mobile application developed in collaboration by the Direction de l’Informatique et de l’Information Sanitaire (DIIS) and the PNLCa with support from the Laboratoire Roche to manage stocks of anti-cancer drugs and patient data in Ivory Coast.

The platform offers two separate interfaces for hospitals and administrators, providing features such as cancer mapping, patient record digitisation and reporting. Security is enhanced by hosting on Google Cloud, two-step authentication, and an audit log to track users. Authorisation levels are differentiated, only registered clinicians can add patients, and administrators have full control over the application.

This project was studied as part of a doctoral research project initiated by Professor Innocent Adoubi and supported by the National Cancer Control Programme (PNLCa).

The Inshira software provides significant value by improving the management of cancer data in Ivory Coast. It improves the quality and completeness of information from the Abidjan cancer registry, which is crucial for assessing cancer incidence and mortality. It also facilitates the opening of new registries in developing areas such as Bouaké and Daloa. In terms of public health, Inshira strengthens Ivory Coast’s authority in cancer registry in the French-speaking West African region and facilitates management by reducing reliance on paper documentation. In terms of research, it simplifies opportunities by minimising logistical and human resource obstacles. It thus enables real-time monitoring of interventions and the major determinants of cancer incidence and mortality.