Overview: The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), through the USAID-funded Promoting the Quality of Medicines Plus (PQM+) program, is collaborating with the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) to enhance regulatory efficiency and pharmaceutical governance in Bangladesh. This project aims to achieve WHO maturity level-3 for DGDA and WHO-prequalification for the National Drug Control Laboratory (NDCL).
Objectives:
Contribution: PQM+ and IntraHealth will assist DGDA in developing a revised IT departmental structure to support the implementation and sustainability of digital initiatives, in line with DGDA's five-year strategic plan. This project will enhance transparency, data integrity, and overall reliance on DGDA functions, contributing to the availability of safe, quality medicines in Bangladesh.
Execution: JBRSOFT is collaborating closely with DGDA to develop the digital architectural blueprint and comprehensive roadmap. Their responsibilities include conducting an in-depth assessment of the current IT infrastructure, identifying gaps, and providing expert recommendations for implementing electronic systems. Additionally, JBRSOFT is facilitating the integration of cross-functional digital solutions to ensure data integrity and regulatory efficiency. By leveraging their expertise, JBRSOFT aims to align DGDA’s digitized systems with the National Digital Health strategy, enhancing the regulatory framework and supporting sustainable digital transformation initiatives.
The purpose of a Regulatory Information Management System (RIMS) is to automate and digitalize the processes and work routines at a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA). OpenRIMS serves that purpose and is built on Common Standards for RIMS. OpenRIMS is Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and can from the browser be localized to country procedures and needs like language. JBRSOFT is assisting the Directorate General of Drug Administration with installation, deployment, customisation, technical assistance, end-user support, and documents preparation.
JBRSOFT has been developing a Content Management System (CMS) for the Bangladesh Biosafety and Biosecurity Society website in accordance with the clients' specifications. In addition, an online training portal assists participants with enrollment, payment, course completion, certificate generating, course management, and question authoring. Furthermore, this one platform will be utilised to organise conferences, including registration, resource and schedule management, speaker profile creation, certification, and payment mechanisms.
JBRSOFT is undertaking a pivotal project in Cox's Bazar, a district in Bangladesh confronted with significant challenges including climate risks, food insecurity, malnutrition, and poverty. The arrival of Rohingya refugees has placed immense strain on local communities, infrastructure, and services, notably in the Teknaf, Ukhiya, Chakaria, and Cox's Bazar Sadar sub-districts. Additionally, the escalating impacts of climate change and frequent natural disasters have made agricultural infrastructure highly vulnerable, severely impeding farming efforts for local practitioners. This has led to a noteworthy decline in agricultural productivity over time, intensifying threats to food security in the region.
In collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP), BRAC has launched a project to address pressing concerns. This initiative is focused on enhancing agricultural infrastructure for vulnerable farmers in the four sub-districts of Cox's Bazar. The primary goal is to strengthen agricultural productivity and ensure food security within the designated project areas. The project's scope encompasses an evaluation of how improvements in agricultural infrastructure impact crop production, with a special emphasis on safeguarding the food resources of the most vulnerable farmers. To guarantee these positive outcomes, the project has prioritized capacity building for farmers through extension services and has worked to improve accessibility to agricultural infrastructure, including upgrading feeder roads, re-excavating canals, establishing riverside plantations, and enhancing culverts, drains, and water reservoirs, among other initiatives. Additionally, the project addresses the environmental implications of infrastructure development, particularly in catchment areas within Cox's Bazar district, with the aim of mitigating disaster risks.
JBRSOFT's focus lies in meticulously assessing the effects of agricultural infrastructure improvements on food security, providing valuable insights for further refinements based on feedback from direct beneficiaries. Specific objectives include evaluating the impact of these improvements on food security, appraising the environmental outcomes of infrastructure development to enhance agricultural production, offering constructive recommendations for ongoing improvement, conducting a thorough review of related project work provided by WFP/BRAC, formulating questionnaires for individual surveys, coordinating focus group discussions and key informant interviews, and conducting a pilot-test of the questionnaire before the final survey.
Since 2019, JBRSOFT has been collaborating with the Pharmacy Council of Bangladesh. As part of the ongoing strengthening of the PCB automation system, we are assisting in the updating of the PCB automation system and database in accordance with PCB requirements, troubleshooting at the application level, improving the usability and user friendliness of the automation system, maintaining all transaction records and preparing standard reports as per the provided templates, developing different report functionalities as per PCB demand for better monitoring by PCB, necessary web API development to link with third party application like Directorate General of Drug Administration's database, ensuring live support, server maintainance and all other ongoing developments.
PViMS, or the PharmacoVigilance Monitoring System, is a web-based application used to monitor the safety of medicines. The application was developed by the USAID-funded Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services [SIAPS] program (2011-2018) and is implemented by the USAID-funded Medicines, Technologies, and Pharmaceutical Services [MTaPS] program (2018-2023), both led by Management Sciences for Health (MSH), a global health nonprofit. PViMS is maintained by MSH.
JBRSOFT is responsible for the further curstomization and implementation of the PViMS platform for Bangladesh. We have been re-structuring the entire system following the requirements of the Directorate General of Drug Administration including improvement the ADR/AEFI reporting and monitoring system by implementing PViMS as a national portal to be handed over to DGDA for routine use, assisting DGDA in customization and enhancement of the ADR/AEFI reporting and monitoring system (PViMS), accommodating new and updated reporting forms, and providing support for electronic data management, auto-generated trending of AEs and analysis.
Furthermore, we are working on the live dashboard, which will connect the system to the VigiFlow software in order to exchange required data (in a specific file format) with the WHO-Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC). Additionally, an online (live) report entry form with signalization of relevant fields was developed. We are also adding an editable PDF version of the report form, as well as additional tabs for guidance documents, newsletters, and suggestions/contact information. As part of the development, we have developed a few functionalities to store and retrieve information for users to access: training, visit/inspection, meeting information, signal detection, alert, RMP, reports for the Safety cell, DRM (Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring), TSC (Technical Subcommittee), ADRAC (Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee), National AEFI committee, reports generated for VigiFlow, DGDA regulatory action report, templates for auto-gene.
MTaPS Program supports the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) in 13 countries to help build countries capacity to protect themselves from infectious disease threats and to raise global health security as a national and worldwide priority. The Programs GHSA work focuses on contributing to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) containment, specifically by supporting infection prevention and control (IPC), antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), and multisectoral coordination (MSC) on AMR.
Bangladesh developed a national action plan for AMR (NAP-AMR) 2017-2022 with an associated roadmap, which includes the development of a web-based system for document sharing as an output. Currently, sectors have their own web presence, but a common platform for AMR information is lacking. For example, IEDCR regularly uploads AMR surveillance findings to their website gathered from 9 sentinel sites (hospitals) that is publicly accessible. DLS, DOF, BLRI, and BARA are at different stages of their web-based information system development. The workshop participants underscored the need for a common web-based platform with data across the sectors that are accessible to the public. This was also a recommendation from the Global Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (GARP) Bangladesh National Working Group. A follow-up workshop on the NAP-AMR implementation status on March 4, 2020, one of recommendation was to create a publicly available web-based platform to share AMR- related information and data across sectors. CDC/DGHS convened a Follow up meeting on 2nd September 2020. One of recommendation was, there should be a system of information sharing under one umbrella to avoid missing information and duplication of efforts by developing/incorporating a web-based AMR information sharing platform for the members of One Health.
MTaPS/Bangladesh supported CDC, DGHS for developing national STGs for common infectious diseases. In Bangladesh, MTaPS first reviewed the common disease patterns in the country to identify the important infectious diseases based on their burden. CDC, DGHS established a small core working group, MTaPS assisted to formulate a methodology for developing the STGs with common infectious diseases and antibiotics list based on last three editions 2016, 2017, and 2018 of Health Bulletins and existing hospital antibiotic guidelines and incorporate in WHO AWaRe classification. Then template distributed to core working group comprising experts from different disciplines to designate their present practices of both preferred and alternative drug according to WHO AWaRe classification for the treatment of included infectious diseases and STG developed. Finally, all chapters reviewed by different senior professional associations. Then CDC, DGHS finalized the STG.
MTaPS will support CDC, DGHS to develop a publicly available web-based platform to facilitate dissemination of AMR information, and an app version of the STG in accordance with the developed STG for common infectious diseases, also transforming from mobile phone app to nationally recognized STG app and building capacity of practitioners to increase the use of WHO AWaRe classification.
A potential solution to addressing this challenge lies with the most commonly used source of medicines in many developing countries-the the private sector drug sellers. The accreditation of drug sellers was not present in Bangladesh until DGDA took the initiative during the implementation of HPNSDP. With the support from JDTAF, MSH worked with DGDA and other sector stakeholders to develop the first standards for retail medicine outlets and design and implement an accreditation program for two new levels of pharmaceutical outlets-Model Pharmacy and Model Medicine Shop. Accreditation standards for retail medicine outlets in Bangladesh have been approved by the competent authority. MSH also developed several strategies to support the implementation of the standards. Realizing the importance of the continuation of the activity and the extensive relevant experience, MOHFW has included the piloting of the approved model for accreditation of retail medicine outlets. DFID Bangladesh is supporting the 4th HNPSP, through the 'Better Health in Bangladesh' program for a period of five years.
Improving access to quality medicines and pharmaceutical services is an essential component of the health services strategy to improve clinical care. Most leading causes of death and disability in developing countries can be prevented, treated, or at least alleviated with cost-effective essential medicines. Despite this fact, hundreds of millions of people do not have regular access to essential medicines and many of those who do have access are given the wrong treatment, receive too little medicine for their illness, or do not use the medicine correctly. Ensuring the availability, affordability, accessibility, and appropriate use of quality medicines is thus crucially important in order to improve the health status of the population. This is a challenge for many countries, including Bangladesh.
DHIS2 is an open-source information system for analysis, reporting with crip visualization ability including chart, GIS, and pivot tables. DHIS2 tracker is being used in Nigeria to monitor the business activity plan from this year. A business plan is ways of gathering health facilities budget and expenditure record for every quarter in a year which means four quarters in a row of year income, budget, and expenditure are available for division making analysis and visualization. This budget and expenditure plans are financed by government, INGO, donors, world bank, and the likes of other international partners, to curb out overspending, an unnecessary and duplicating project for efficient and effective spending for service delivery.
To design and development of web applications with project information, HR activity planner, project activities, crip visualization, BI reports & archiving, environmental regulation, contact, gallery, multi-languages capabilities, etc. We have developed their project dashboards including skill enhancement projects.
Setup of DHIS2 server, installed on an Ubuntu server and hosted via CloudCreate a DHIS2 Installation Guide for Ubuntu 19.04 LTS on the current Digital Ocean environment. Initial configuration of DHIS2 server which includes (Organizational groups, Data Elements, and Assignment of Data Sets) Aggregated data set the configuration for Tuberculosis Tracker configuration for Tuberculosis
The prevalence of malnutrition among children and mothers is alarmingly high and calls for action to achieve food security, mainly for the rural population of Bangladesh, which is an utmost need. The National Nutrition Programme (NNP) is one of the success stories of the GO-NGO partnership effort to assist people specifically children and women affected by malnutrition in Bangladesh. The success of the Bangladesh Integrated Nutrition Project (BINP), undertaken by the Government of Bangladesh in a large but limited area with the World Bank and other donors has demonstrated that community mobilization and community nutrition services delivered by NGOs can bring rapid and sustainable reductions in severe malnutrition among children. NGOs are able to deliver targeted food and micronutrient supplements to reproductive women who are suffering from chronic energy and micro-nutrient deficiency.
Project Goal: To improve the nutrition status of women & children so that malnutrition is no longer a public health problem.
To automate full office they offered to develop ISPERP with the following modules: HRM, CRM, Customer Self-care portal, Billing, Sales, Inventory, Accounting, Support Ticket Management, Box & ONU Management, Prepaid Card Generations, Online Payment Gateway, Pop/ Reseller Management, Branch Office Management, Real & Static IP management, Mikrotik Administration, Integrated Radius Server, SMS & E-mail notification, Dynamic notification center, Automatic BTRC report.
Restaurant POS: A POS is a central unit of your restaurant management system. Your database gets updated every time a new customer gets their order punched in. Apart from this, a POS helps in handling essential operations such as printing, card payments, sales hold, and of course, billing.
CRM management: Post-sign-up by the customer or online order processing the system capture the customer records which will help you to further campaigns.
Employee management: Attendance tracking, overtime, productivity and time sheets tracking, user access settings, employee details, payroll management feature
Others: Full inventory, Finances and Accounting module