e-Santé Ulcère de Buruli

Buruli ulcer is a disabling disease that can mark patients for life when they do not receive prompt and effective treatment.

The solution provides community health workers (CHWs) with a mobile application that they can use to help them in their work. The application helps them improve their communication and awareness efforts by providing an interactive gallery of visuals. CHWs can list all their awareness campaigns in the application and also identifies community, religious and opinion leaders that can serve as important channels for raising awareness. The CHW is able to report all suspected Buruli ulcer cases detected and an alert is then generated, destined for all medical managers in the CHW’s health zone. The practitioner in charge of patient treatment also enjoys the support of a mobile application, letting him or her enter all the steps and information related to the patient’s treatment process. There is an inventory management module for drugs and medical supplies as part of the practitioner’s application. If there is potential for a stock shortage, an alert is sent to the central server. A system of data transfer by GSM channels all the data entered in the mobile applications to a central server. A web application provides a comprehensive dashboard of activities related to fighting Buruli ulcer. The web application also has a central pharmacy management module from the National Program for Buruli Ulcer Control (Programme Nationale de Lutte contre l’ulcère de Buruli or PNLUB). It also makes it possible to send text and voice messages to inform and raise awareness to targeted persons. This means that, as a whole, the project makes it possible to: – Increase the operational capacities of actors at institutions and in the field, both individuals and communities. – Strengthen initiatives to fight Buruli ulcer at the community and school level. – Design and implement a communication strategy that promotes behavioural changes to improve health in communities and schools. – Ensure the physical rehabilitation of Buruli ulcer cases when disabilities arise. – Ensure the socio-economic and socio-educational reintegration of former BU patients that have been treated and cured.

The project substantially improves public awareness of the disease. The project improves the detection of suspected cases. It also ensures rapid and effective management of confirmed cases of Buruli ulcer, thereby preventing the disease from reaching a stage that can result in patient disability. It provides physical rehabilitation for patients with disabilities and socio-economic and socio-educational reintegration for former BU cases that have been treated and cured.