User Extended App for the Norwegian Refugee Council & WHO Integrated Data Platform

Client:

The Norwegian Refugee Council is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee as we introduced in our Case Study for the Dataset Configuration Web App.

Background:

The NRC uses DHIS2 as a basis of their normal operation on the field, storing and analyzing the resulting data with this platform. Their extensive use of DHIS2 lead them to reach some of the limitations of the system, needing some customizations for their specific use case. DHIS2 user management interface is not particularly good for managing a big set of users, and the NRC had a huge one. For this reason, they decided to fund a separate app called Users App in its origin but now called User Extended App (to distinguish from the official DHIS2 Users App).

WHO started using DHIS2 with the so-called WIDP (WHO Integrated Data Platform) composed by more than 5 DHIS2 instances working in parallel for different uses. The international organism is collaborating with EyeSeeTea since May 2018. As part of the general maintenance of the WIDP, WHO decided to back also some specific new features in the User Extended App.

Solution:

We developed an app that enables the user to perform a wide range of operations that are really difficult or heavy using the normal UI that DHIS2 offers. Operations like bulk assigning users to OUs or roles became possible in DHIS2, as well as others became much easier with the new User Extended App. It has been proven to be extremely useful for any organization using DHIS2 at a large-scale. Concretely features like bulk disabling users, or even users replications, users import from CSV files or users export to CSV files, made life easier for WHO departments to manage multiple instances with several different profiles of users.

Code:

The User Extended App is open source and has been submitted to the DHIS2 public App store to let any organization download and use it in their own platforms. You can check out our open source code at our GitHub repository for this app:

https://github.com/EyeSeeTea/user-extended-app-blessed

Strategic Technical Consulting and Product & Project Management for Electron-Microscopy Software

Client:

The Instruct Image Processing Center (I2PC) at the Spanish National Center for Biology (CNB), which belongs to the European Strategic Infrastructure Project (ESFRI) in the area of Structural Biology. I2PC provides support to structural biologists, helping them to maximize the extraction of biological knowledge from their microscopy images.

Background:

In the past few years, 3D electron microscopy (3DEM) has undergone a revolution in instrumentation and methodology. In this context, I2PC started to develop Scipion, an image processing framework for obtaining 3D models of macromolecular complexes using Electron Microscopy (3DEM). Scipion aims to address the problems of integration and interoperability in 3DEM. There is a commitment to provide state of the art algorithms and software to the EM community, including software from other groups. However, integration of open-source software from other international labs is a complex and difficult task both from a technical and scientific point of view. The heterogeneity of the software packages in terms of programming language, libraries and mathematical and structural biologies method requires a multidisciplinary team and makes quite difficult to estimate the time and the computational resources needed.

Solution:

EyeSeeTea provided software development audits services to improve the development processes in this R+D project and project management. Currently, Scipion integrates several software packages and presents a unified interface for both biologists and developers. Scipion allows executing workflows combining different software tools while taking care of formats and conversions. Additionally, all steps are tracked and can be reproduced later on.

Scipion is widely used nowadays and several labs and organisations uses and contributes to it. The number of users and integrated protocols has increased dramatically and the coordination between the different center is much better than in the past years. Thanks to the project success, we are still collaborating with the Spanish National Center for Biotecnology in a wide ranges projects: developing and maintenance of the different websites, maintenance of the cluster infrastructure, server configuration, etc.

Hepatitis Global Reporting Tool for WHO

Client:

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is an agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health.

Background:

There was a need for more efficient tools designed to support monitoring progress towards the targets defined by Member States at the World Health Assembly in 2016 towards elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030

Solution:

We have developed the software for the new online Global reporting system for hepatitis (GRSH) launched by WHO. The GRSH includes indicators for selected data elements from the monitoring and evaluation framework not already captured by other systems; and  critical policy uptake indicators. WHO Member States are provided with unique login credentials to access the DHIS2 online reporting system and enter data for each reporting year. 

More Info:

WHO Global Reporting System for Hepatitis website

Electronic Data System App for PATH

Client:

The client of this project was the private British company Knowtechture who sub-contracted EyeSeeTea for the development. This app was funded by PATH through the United States President’s Malaria Initiative-funded MalariaCare project and used across several countries in Africa.

Background:

DHIS2 is widely used in Africa at a national level, but Ministries of Health were until recently using paper checklists to conduct health facility supervision visits.

EyeSeeTea has developed an app that enables Ministries of Health to create their own digital assessments and allow public clinics to report directly into DHIS2 from isolated rural areas.

Solution:

The Electronic Data System (EDS) app in an open source quality assessment tool connected with DHIS2 servers. The App synchronizes with DHIS2 in an initial sync process, and turns DHIS2 programs and data elements into surveys and questionnaires that the user is able to fill in offline from an Android device. This app is widely used by PATH across several countries in Africa. The EDS was adapted from Population Services International’s (PSI’s) Health Network Quality Improvement System (HNQIS).

Code:

You can check out our open source code at our GitHub repository (all of our apps are licensed under GPLv3). Apps are currently under active development and we frequently release new versions,

Malaria Case-Based Reporting App for Save The Children Myanmar

Client:

The client of this project was the private British company Knowtechture who sub-contracted EST for the development. This project is funded by Save the Children Myanmar. In Myanmar and around the world, Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. In Myanmar and around the world, Save the Children gives children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn, and the protection from harm. They do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – to transform their lives and the future we share.

Background:

In Myanmar health reporting is a complicated issue, parts of the country are even not under government control. Until recently they were using paper checklists to conduct health facility supervision visits. Additionally, there is no easy way no monitor stock control, so Save the Children couldn’t easily decide where it was important to send aid.

Solution:

EyeSeeTea is developing a new generation of Android applications aimed to help track Malaria cases by analyzing the epidemic through useful statistics. DHIS is the system chosen for such analytics. It’s widely used in the health domain all around the world, especially for development and emergency situations.

The applications developed by EyeSeeTea represent an offline data entry point to DHIS. They are designed to be picture-driven, allowing the system to be used by people unable to read in the most remote isolated rural areas. When connected to a network, the data are sent to a DHIS2 server so that it can determine how the different species of malaria are moving geographically and how the people are being treated. Save the Children Myanmar used the previous experiences with EyeSeeTea apps in Laos & Cambodia to improve the retrieved data and also adding a couple of key features: drug stock control, taking information in real-time about the drugs availability in the facilities, and treatment-aid system, and helping the users to properly decide the treatment to be applied for each malaria case. This application is currently deployed in Myanmar by Save the Children and used for the reporting by all of the Save the Children partners facilities with the Save the Children Myanmar HQ. We have seen a drastic increase of the available data in real-time for malaria elimination, reduction in the dedicated time for reporting at the facilities, and better informed decisions at the decision-makers level.

Code:

You can check out our open source code at our GitHub repository (all of our apps are licensed under GPLv3). Applications are currently under active development and we frequently release new versions:

Open source and open hardware router for community networks

Client:

EyeSeeTea presented a proposal in partnership with the University of Western Cape (South Africa) for the FIRE Africa Grant. The University of the Western Cape is a national university of South Africa. It is committed to excellence in teaching, learning and research to nurturing the cultural diversity of South Africa and to responding in critical and creative ways to the needs of a society in transition. The funds for FIRE Africa grants come from multiple sources like the AFRINIC, Sida, IDRC and the Internet Society or Google. We were awarded the grant in 2016.

Background:

The University of the Western Cape (UWC) has been researching low-cost solutions to reduce the cost of communications in rural areas since 2003. Due to the financial inequality in South Africa, there are rural communities living on average individual incomes below 2 US dollars a day. Still, these populations consider mobile communications important enough to spend an average of 22 percent of their disposable income on these services. This income could also go towards food, education, healthcare, etc. Additionally, this high proportion of disposable income goes towards a a very constrained set of mobile phone services. Regarding data, only 22.2 percent of people report using Internet on a monthly basis, and those who do report report a very constrained use of it. To propose a solution to this market inefficiency, UWC partnered with Mankosi, a rural community in the Eastern Cape province, to create Zenzeleni Networks Mankosi (ZNM) in 2013. ZNM initially focused on the provision of voice services and a WiFi mesh network consisting of 12 routers deployed in Mankosi by community members with the assistance of students from UWC. From analogue phones connected to the WiFi routers, free intranet VoIP calls, and breakout calls could be made at half the price offered by the Mobile Network Operators. Therefore, this work has led to establishing the firstbottom-up operator in the South African regulatory framework, setting a legal precedent for other bottom-up operators to follow.

 

Problem:

Community Networks have always depended on modifying existing off-the-shelf routers to adapt them to their particular needs. The impossibility of replacing pre-installed software in off-the-shelf routers is an obstacle for every community that has deployed a network, as well as for every community that wants do so in the near future. For this reason, the University of the Western Cape and the partner organizations in this project deem it necessary to solve this issue by letting the communities regain control over the hardware platforms they need to continue developing their self-provided communication network projects.

 

Solution:

The Libre Router project produces a high performance, multi-radio wireless router targeted at Community Networks’ needs. EyeSeeTea joined this initiative to empower community networks by giving them an open software and open hardware router that could be cut from market needs.

Based on our design, new open hardware and open software wireless routers have a new power-saving strategy. We also developed a new application with a hybrid technology that controls phone communications by informing the user about the cost and letting her/him to choose the cheapest strategy (either via the community network or the GSM network, depending on the phone company).

The characteristics of this router allowed for a big improvement in performance in mesh networks due to the use of dual 5Ghz radios. This important characteristic is only available on the market at a much higher price range. The chipset used for the router was selected with stability and robust efficiency in mind. Main characteristics of the LibreMesh firmware include:

– Dual layer dynamic routing 
– Auto-configuration of nodes in the mesh network 
– Real-time mapping of nodes and links 
– Web interface for basic tasks like antenna aiming 
– Dual stack IPv4/IPv6 
– Auto-discovery and sharing of Internet connections

More Info:

LibreRouter

New version of our Malaria Case-based Reporting app!

We just released a new version of our Malaria Case-based Reporting app for Save the Children Myanmar! It keeps track of new cases, helps with diagnosis and automatically monitors stock of drugs & tests to inform health centers to take better logistic decisions.

Dataset Configuration Web App for the Norwegian Refugee Council

Client:

The Norwegian Refugee Council is an independent humanitarian organisation helping people forced to flee their home countries. They work in 31 countries, where they help save lives and rebuild futures. They deliver high-quality aid and provide camp managementfood assistance, clean water, shelter, legal aid, and education. In 2017, they assisted a record number of 8.7 million people in need. Around 14,000 humanitarians work with the Norwegian Refugee Council — most of them hired locally to work in the field. NRC acts as an advocate for displaced people and supports the UN and local authorities in humanitarian crises.

Background:

Qualitative data collection and analysis are key to correctly implementing and evaluating aid. EyeSeeTea is contributing to this effort by developing several customized web apps for NRC based on DHIS2. DHIS2 is one of the most used and useful software for health management data, an open source platform developed by the Health Information Systems Program (HISP) and is supported by the University of Oslo’s Department of Informatics. Its initial scope has been systematically expanded to cover other sectors beyond health, such as education, water and sanitation, food security.

In the field, using efficient software is key. We work with NRC to provide an application tailored specifically to community workers’ needs through customizable datasets.

Solution:

The Dataset Configuration Web App allows NRC administrators to create quick and easily customizable datasets through the use of a form wizard. They can be configured according to the needs of each project, aid area, and country. NRC has already configured 400+ datasets. More than 100 of these datasets are currently in use. These customized surveys are later on filled by the local field workers. Later on, this data is used to evaluate the impact of the aid and to efficiently correlate outputs with outcomes. Our other web apps for NRC are Dataset Recording and User Enhancement, which allow users to delete, correct and push new data and a sophisticated management of users, respectively.

Starting from a DHIS2 platform, these applications aim to modify some core and module features of DHIS2, specially from pivot tables webapp, to improve and extend some of its functions. The main objectives are to allow Indicators to be created in a DataSetAttribute basis and to provide a way and an interface to create calculated items in pivot tables by using other fields from the table. We provide a second-tier technical support for the DHIS2 platform and a set of technical developments including enhancement to current pivot/visualisation applications, indicator calculation enhancement and amendments of core functionality for visualisation.

Code:

You can check out our open source code at our GitHub repositories (all of our apps are licensed under GPLv3). Apps are currently under active development and we release frequently new versions:

https://github.com/EyeSeeTea/dataset-configuration-blessed

https://github.com/EyeSeeTea/user-app-blessed/releases

https://github.com/EyeSeeTea/dataset-recoding-blessed

Fire Grant Awarded to Libre Router

Libre Router, one of the projects we are involved at, has been awarded a FIRE Africa Award. These awards seek to acknowledge innovative initiatives in Africa that have made concrete contributions through the use of information and communications technologies and have had a proven impact on the region’s social and economic development. They are granted by the Fund for Internet Research and Development – FIRE Africa – one of Africa’s leading Grants and Awards programmes designed to encourage, support and develop innovative online solutions to Africa’s education, information, infrastructure and communication needs. FIRE Africa provides funds in the form of Grants and Awards for projects, initiatives, tools and platforms that harness the power of the Internet to empower the local and regional community to solve the region’s unique online communications problems.

Community Networks depend on modifying existing off-the-shelf routers to adapt them to their particular needs. Software development that originated in Community Network groups and the Free Software movement as a whole has pushed the barrier of innovation and helped commercial enterprises develop new products over the years. This virtuous relation between hardware vendors and the community has been threatened by new regulation from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – U.S.A., which has led vendors to globally close up their routers to third party modifications, hindering open innovation and effectively closing the door to Community Networks in terms of access to the hardware they depend on. The Libre Router project will design and produce a high performance multi-radio wireless router targeted at Community Networks’ needs. The reality of life in the Global South, and that of Africa in particular, will be specially considered in terms of cost, power consumption, respect for orality and legal viability.

More Info