Disease surveillance is one of the areas where digital health is increasingly
being applied, particularly in low-income countries. In Burkina Faso (BF),
the liberalization of the telecommunications sector since 1996 has provided
an opportunity for the adoption of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) in the health sector. In 2004, the Ministry of Health and
Public Hygiene (MSHP) adopted an e-health policy aimed at covering 95%
of health facilities with ICT solutions by 2020. This article paid particular
attention to the innovations emerging in the disease surveillance and
response system (SIMR) in the face of the state’s inadequate integration
of ICTs into the healthcare system. More specifically, we will focus on
innovations taking place in health and social promotion centers (CSPS).
The study was conducted in Dandé health district in the south-western
part of BF. Based on qualitative methods, data were collected through
semi-structured interviews with head nurses (ICP) (n=11), Expanded
Program on Immunization (EPI) managers (n=10), CISSE members (n=2)
and Community-Based Health Workers (CBHWs) (n=15), as well as through
observations of ICTs uses. Content qualitative analysis was performed by
using concepts of tinkering and bricolage to discussing our results. With
the advent of the wireless telephone, the government has tried to build
a digital infrastructure, equipping the CSPSs with MoovAfrica (ex-Telmob)
telephone chips and a prepaid “fleet” communication system of 5000 FCFA/
month for the collection and transfer of epidemiological data called The
Telegram Official Weekly Letter (TLOH). The results showed that the use
of this “TLOH fleet” digital device encounters difficulties linked to the
MoovAfrica telephone network signal, which is not fluid, specifically in
rural localities. Other difficulties lie in the fact that the standard model of
telephone acquired by the CSPSs does not have the functionalities to enable
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them to adapt to the challenges of call saturation on the CISSE fleet number.