On April 5, 2021, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan virtually launched the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP), an integrated Digital Platform for Disease Surveillance in India. It is an advanced version of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), which is being used currently. With the launch, India became the 1st Country in the World to adopt an Advanced Digital Disease Surveillance System.
- It is also the World’s biggest online disease surveillance platform (in terms of Geographical coverage, number of diseases covered & quantum of data generated).
- National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), World Health Organization (WHO) were associated with the development of the platform.
- The platform is in sync with the National Digital Health Mission and will help in achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of ‘Atma-NirbharSwasth Bharat’.
Roles
- IHIP will house the data entry and management for India’s disease surveillance program.
- It will be helpful in real-time data collection, aggregation, analysis & visualization of data which will aid & enable evidence-based policy making.
- It will provide real-time data in digital mode & also provide analyzed reports on mobile or other electronic devices.
- The platform will help India move towards the ‘One Health’ approach.
Key points
- Developed under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, IHIP is capable of tracking 33 diseases (previously it was 18) & provides real-time data in digital mode.
- The digital platform will be helpful in gathering information about the earliest signs of disease spread in the smallest of villages & blocks in India, which will be vital in preventing potential epidemics.
- Using the system, outbreak investigation activities can be initiated and monitored electronically.
- It is capable of being integrated with other ongoing surveillance programs. It has a feature for the addition of special surveillance modules.
- It will help not only in timely health response but also in disease prioritization.
Recent Related News:
i.On September 28, 2020, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Harsh Vardhan launched the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)’s Vaccine Web Portal and National Clinical Registry for COVID-19.
About National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC):
It is an institute under the Indian Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Director – DrSujeet Kumar Singh
Headquarters – New Delhi
