Digitizing NTD Delivery: Strengthening Health Systems through Innovation and Integration
Following the successful inaugural ESPEN Quarterly Stakeholder Webinar held in July, ESPEN convened its second session on 22 October 2025, under the theme “Digitizing NTD Delivery: Strengthening Health Systems through Innovation and Integration.” The virtual event, organized by WHO/AFRO’s Expanded Special Project for the Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN), brought together 139 participants from ministries of health, WHO country and regional offices, and partner organizations—demonstrating strong momentum and growing demand for practical, solutions-focused dialogue on digital innovation in NTD delivery.
In her opening remarks, Dr Elizabeth Juma, ESPEN Team Lead, underlined that the move from fragmented, paper-based systems to integrated digital solutions is no longer optional: it is essential to improve efficiency, accountability, and motivation across all levels of programme implementation. The WHO AFRO Digital Finance Team (DFT) then showcased how digital payments have already transformed large-scale health campaigns across the region—paying over 4 million polio workers in 26 countries with a 99% first-attempt success rate, building a verified database of 2.9 million health workers in 31 countries, and reducing payment times to as little as two hours after campaign completion. This proven model is now being expanded to NTD campaigns under the Reaching the Last Mile Fund, with a goal of supporting 12 countries over the next four years.
A highlight of the webinar was the Madagascar country case study, which offered a vivid picture of how fully digitized workflows can unlock rapid gains. By leveraging mobile money infrastructure and using CommCare to digitize each step—from worker registration to verification, approval, and disbursement—Madagascar reduced payment delays from 40–52 days to under one week, achieving success rates of around 99% across two NTD MDA rounds in 2024. Real-time dashboards, digital attendance, and strong collaboration between national and regional teams reinforced transparency and strengthened accountability. As Dr Patricia Martin emphasized, digitizing the entire payment process—not just the final transfer—transformed both efficiency and frontline motivation.
The discussion that followed was highly interactive, with participants raising thoughtful questions on topics such as data protection and confidentiality, legal and regulatory frameworks, choice of mobile operators, post-campaign audits, and the potential to extend digital payments to trainings and supervision missions. These exchanges underscored that most barriers are institutional rather than technological: mobile money ecosystems are already mature in much of sub-Saharan Africa, but success depends on political commitment, early engagement of ministries of finance and ICT regulators, and coherent multi-partner coordination. Panelists stressed that digital finance must be embedded within national systems, governed by clear legal frameworks, and supported by strong data-governance and privacy safeguards.
In closing, Dr Juma reiterated that this digital payment agenda is country-owned and directly aligned with WHO’s broader digital transformation and health-system strengthening goals. ESPEN will continue to work with the AFRO Digital Finance Team and partners to support countries in adopting and scaling mobile payment systems for NTD campaigns, integrating these tools into health information and financial platforms, and using data to drive transparent, accountable decision-making. Building on the energy of both the inaugural and second webinars, ESPEN’s quarterly series is fast becoming a practical space where countries and partners co-create solutions that make NTD programmes more resilient, responsive, and ready to deliver at scale.