The DHIS2 Symposium brings together representatives from global development agencies, governments, and NGOs with a shared vision of using data to drive decision making and impact. It is an opportunity to interact with peers and thought leaders in health systems strengthening, monitoring & evaluation, and analytics. The DHIS2 Symposium highlights how DHIS2 is being used in creative ways to solve common challenges in collecting, managing, visualizing, and most importantly, using data. From February 22-23, this in-person event will take place at Convene in Arlington, Virginia.

BREAKOUT SESSION 
Data Democratization: Using Digital Transformation for Country Led Strategies 

Date & Time: Thursday, February 22 | 1:45PM–2:15PM 
Location: Observation Hub North 

Explore Pathfinder’s Integrated Data Visualization and Analytics Tool, uniting data from diverse DHIS2 sources to align with digital transformation and a country-led approach. Discover how this tool empowers decentralized leadership, in line with the USAID ‘Locally Led Development’ initiative, fostering equity and sustainability. Learn how it elevates decision-making authority at the local level, ensuring responsiveness to nuances and aligning with global standards for transparency. This session highlights the tool’s capacity to optimize operations, combining HR, finance, and service statistics data for informed decision-making. Join us to witness Pathfinder’s stride towards a more inclusive, localized, and results-oriented future through this innovative data analytics solution. This session will be facilitated by Matthew Saaks, Senior Digital Health Advisor, and Charles Waka, Digital Innovations Advisor.  

BREAKOUT SESSION 
Pathfinder DHIS2 Dataset Completion Script 

Date & Time: Friday, February 23 | 3:30–4:00PM 
Location: Observation Hub South 

DHIS2’s completeness reports show how many datasets have been submitted. There are different methods to calculate completeness in DHIS2. One of these methods is triggered when the user selects a completeness button in the data entry form. This method in DHIS2 does not work well for Pathfinder whose data capture process is not limited to the use of data entry forms but also through comma-separated values (CSV). For this reason, to be able to manage reporting rates accurately and efficiently, there is a need to develop an automated method for marking datasets that have been uploaded via CSV as complete. This session will be facilitated by Habtamu Zerihun, Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor.  

Meet the DHIS2 Delegation

Matthew Saaks
Senior Digital Health Advisor
United States

Matthew Saaks has over 20 years of experience in international public health, MEL and digital systems. He is currently Pathfinder’s Senior Digital Health Advisor where he works to advance and innovate digital health in projects, business development, and enterprise-wide. Prior to joining Pathfinder, Matthew developed, designed, managed, and implemented project and enterprise-wide digital technology solutions. Projects included aggregate reporting, systems integration, mobile data collection, and client referral. He has experience working in iNGOs, UN organizations, consulting firms, and a technology firm. Matthew’s passion for digital health evolved from his desire to innovate from his public health MEL foundation. Early in Matthew’s career he lived in Kenya, Turkey, Somalia, and Ethiopia. He has also worked in Bangladesh, Suriname, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Zimbabwe. During that time, he focused on public health MEL, always with a mindset of looking for options to innovate and make data gathering and consumption processes more effective and more efficient. Matthew holds a master’s degree in public health from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and a BS in Economics. 

Charles Waka
Digital Innovations Advisor
Kenya

Charles Waka is a well-rounded public health data scientist with over 10 years of experience. He is a trained computer scientist with advanced data engineering and visualization skills. Charles has led several projects across sub–Saharan Africa in the development and adoption of scalable digital health tools, EMRs, and mobile data collection. He is well versed in an array of programming languages and has experience working in several countries in Africa and Asia.

Habtamu Zerihun
Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor
Ethiopia

As the Global M & E Advisor for Data and Analytics at Pathfinder International, Mr. Habtamu Zerihun brings over 13 years of experience in monitoring, evaluating, and learning within the organization and projects funded by international donors. Currently overseeing 45 active projects in 16 countries across Africa and Asia, he has previously supported more than 10 projects in Ethiopia. His expertise includes data management, DHIS2 system development, and contributions to 20 studies published in peer-reviewed journals. Proficient in analytical software such as open code, Atlas.ti, SPSS, Epi.info, and Power BI, he is well-versed in both quantitative and qualitative studies.