Burundi is preparing to expand its digital health supply chain management system, eLMIS Medexis, to private healthcare facilities after completing nationwide deployment across public and faith-based institutions.
The move is part of government efforts to improve medicine availability, strengthen health logistics and increase the reliability of data used to manage medical supplies.
Burundi’s Public Health Minister Fidele Ndayisaba and Alain Parfait Bimenyimana, country director of Dutch non-governmental organisation i+Solutions, reviewed progress on the initiative during a meeting on Thursday.
The eLMIS Medexis platform is designed to digitally manage inventories of medicines and other health products, allowing health authorities to monitor supplies more efficiently and respond faster to shortages.
Since its launch in December 2022, the programme has been implemented with support from i+Solutions and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
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The system has already been deployed across all public and faith-based healthcare facilities in Burundi, with more than 2,000 users trained and 956 health facilities connected.
To support the rollout, authorities have distributed 839 laptops and 148 routers to improve digital access and strengthen medicine inventory management.
Officials said the next phase will focus on extending the platform to private health facilities while improving technical support, digital infrastructure and internet connectivity.
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Authorities are also exploring solutions for areas with limited connectivity, including possible use of satellite internet services such as Starlink.
The government said improving interoperability between health information systems will be a priority as digital health services expand.
The eLMIS Medexis project forms part of Burundi’s broader efforts to modernise healthcare management through technology, reduce supply chain weaknesses and ensure more reliable access to essential medicines.
By expanding the system beyond government facilities, authorities hope to create a more integrated national health supply network covering both public and private providers.
