ADDIS ABABA (EPHI) – The Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) has launched a new website for monitoring the progression of the COVID-19 outbreak to provide updates and for tracking response activities. The website is developed by EPHI’s National Data Management Center for health (NDMC). As a mandated and responsible Institute in public health emergency management, EPHI has been leading the COVID-19 surveillance, detection, preparedness and response activities undertaken to avert the spread of the virus. The staff of the NDMC has developed multi-purpose web platform for the general public to access genuine, reliable and up to date information regarding COVID-19.
The website is highly dynamic platform amendable for new developments and demands to ensure provision of exclusive and up to date information of domestic and global on COVID-19 informed decision at different levels.
“The website is very important at this critical time because it helps for tracking COVID-19 progress at city, region, and national level for Ethiopian, Africa, and the World. It enables users get access to multiple information from a single platform including news, updates, response actions being taken in Ethiopia, Africa as well as at the global level, research and publications, call lines for all of the regions and other necessary information about the virus,” said Dr. Alemnesh Mirkuze coordinator of the NDMC.
“If we address people with the right credible source of information platform at the right time, we can contribute a lot in the fight against the virus,” added Dr. Alemnesh.
The NDMC experts have developed the website to support EPHI, Federal Ministry of Health and COVID-19 response in general. “We developed the website in a very short period of time with outstanding quality so as users can access it for up to date information of local and global information of COVID-19. Anyone who has access to internet connection can find information of geospatial, visualization at regional, national and global level,” said Latera Tesfaye – a data analyst at NDMC and one of the website’s developers.
“The system has para amount importance for Ethiopia because we incorporated all available information, educational materials, guide lines and daily report on COVID-19 cases, research and publications and response at local, national and global level. Hence, users can easily have access to these materials,” said Gelan Abdurheman – a senior database specialist who has developed the database of the website. The website can be accessed through “covid.ephi.gov.et“.
Source: EPHI