Via PAHO's Haiti page (not its moribund Hispaniola cholera page): Information System via SMS. Excerpt:
SYMO is an information transmission system that streamlines geographically dispersed data into a single management center. The technology can be used even where Internet may not be working or where there are connection problems. Previously encoded SMS messages transmit information from the field to a central post where it automatically undertakes the following.
• Evaluates content consistency, notifying the sender via SMS of any error
• Sets up an alert when the value of the parameter being monitored exceeds the predefined alarm level
• Stores in a database the information received. Historical reports, statistics can be subsequently performed etc.
Success stories have been:
• Monitoring of water quality through the residual chlorine in Dominican Republic and Haiti. An alert is sent when it detects that it is 0 mg/liter. The system automatically notifies operators and health officials via SMS and email.
• Surveillance of cholera cases (hospitalizations and deaths) in Haiti, such that each day the number of cases and deaths in all the communities are reported from across the country - including from those with difficult access where information has not been readily available.
So the question arises: If a daily tally of hospitalizations and deaths is coming in from all over the country, including the mysteriously silent department of Grande Anse, why doesn't MSPP post a routine, complete, daily update on its Documentation page?
And another question: How many people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic have access to chlorinated water even at the best of times?
