EpiHack , an event that brings developers and health professionals together to address specific issues around tracking infectious diseases is soon here! EpiHacks are collaborative week-long events that bring together public health officials, epidemiologists, and technologists to to create solutions for improved disease surveillance.
The “hack-a-thon” concept has spread across the globe for its ability to produce innovations through intense, creative, fun and collaborative activities that unite software developers, designers, interface designers and other technology experts with specialists on the issues identified. They require all participants to collaborate, co-create, identify and explore ideas and be action-orientated.
At an EpiHack participants work closely with multidisciplinary teams, contributing their expertise and learning from other participants.
Each EpiHack has a unique set of goals that depend on the needs of the local partners. Developers and public health experts to work together towards specific objectives that are needs in the community where the EpiHack is hosted. There are also commonalities in the goal outcomes of each location specific EpiHack, such as building a network to end pandemics across government, academia, government and the private sector and generating collaborative innovation efforts between the public health and technology communities
Since 2013 EpiHacks have been held in countries around the world including Tanzania, Brazil, Vietnam and Cambodia.
EpiHack Uganda will run under the direction of the Division of Health Information, Ministry Health Uganda with support from the international technology nonprofit InSTEDD. The event will focus on strengthening Uganda’s health information system on disease surveillance using digital solutions. The venue and exact dates are to be announced before the end of 2017. To learn more or inquire about the event visit www.instedd.org/EpiHackUganda
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