2017 ICT4D Conference

OpenLMIS is a global initiative to support the development of interoperable, open-source software for electronic logistics management information systems (LMIS). OpenLMIS was designed through a collaborative process by a community of international stakeholders and donors, applying the Principles for Digital Development, and the end result is a more powerful information system than any one country or organization could create individually. The vision of OpenLMIS is to encourage shared investment and benefit through an open source community, and to create a tool that is highly interoperable, scalable, and adaptable to the needs of country programs globally. OpenLMIS is deployed in six geographies, with an additional national implementation planned in July 2017.

The panel will share how OpenLMIS supports SDG3 by streamlining the provision of data to decision-makers. As an integral part of the country's’ overall Health Information System (HIS) architecture, an electronic LMIS system can decrease order processing time and provide increased visibility and reliability of data used for long-term planning. This data can also reduce the likelihood that essential public health commodities are stocked out at health facilities, making medicines available more regularly to those who need them most.

Many countries are now moving away from multiple systems in an effort to harmonize data collection efforts across the HIS landscape. This panel addresses those efforts, discussing successes and lessons learned in previous integrations between OpenLMIS and warehouse ERP systems, mobile data collection platforms, and health management information systems like DHIS2. The platform’s extensible architecture enables it to share vital information with multiple systems, encouraging intelligent decision-making and increasing supply chain efficiency. By making use of broader data sets to validate data across systems, and combined with on-the-ground capacity building, country users can identify and address gaps in forecasted commodity needs, bringing programs closer to achieving the SDGs.