Data and digital collaboration empowering public agencies in the municipality of Paipa, Colombia

In the small municipality of Paipa in the Colombian department of Boyacá, a digital information system helps policy-makers and public health specialists to monitor the health status of urban and rural communities, and run multiple municipal social programmes in an integrated way.

Some 35 000 people live in the small rural municipality of Paipa in central Colombia, a regional tourist centre famous for its hot springs. For the local population, noncommunicable diseases pose a major health challenge and are among the most treated conditions in health centres and hospitals. Limited household resources, a lack of awareness of NCD risk factors, and disparities in access to care between additionally affect health prevention and care. Recognizing these social and economic determinants of health, the secretary of health with support from the Mayor and all other municipal agencies aimed at integrating social indicators into the municipality’s health monitoring system.

From 2019, the city of Paipa launched a digital solution to integrate and feed key data points from the community into formal planning dialogues at the municipal government councils. For the first time, this system brought together data on social, economic, housing, environmental and health needs of the community, putting them at the fingertip of the municipality’s planning mechanisms.

“From early on, the municipality of Paipa recognised that this digital tool requires the buy-in and commitment from all public officials to enable active communication and have positive health impact. This broad involvement has allowed the development of a comprehensive common knowledge-base in the municipality that guides public management decisions and the implementation of key programmes.”

- Dr Diego Beltrán, Secretary of Health of the city of Paipa -

Each responsible municipal agency collects and feeds data into this single municipal system, including on health, housing, social inclusion, household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene among others. The data is then collectively analysed and used as critical inputs to create population profiles and devise appropriate actions during the municipal government councils. This both enables municipal agencies to monitor their core indicators, and creates a level playing field for making interdisciplinary and multisectoral perspectives available for integrated decision-making.

“From early on, the municipality of Paipa recognised that this digital tool requires the buy-in and commitment from all public officials to enable active communication and have positive health impact”, recalled Dr Diego Beltrán, Secretary of Health of the city of Paipa. A priority therefore was to ensure all public officials were actively involved in the collection of key data at the community level, and had a say in selecting and using specific indicators. “This broad involvement has allowed the development of a comprehensive common knowledge-base in the municipality that guides public management decisions and the implementation of key programmes”, he reflected.

One example is Paipa’s day care centres programme, for which the digital tool helped identify over 600 vulnerable individuals aged 60 or above living with a chronic condition. Based on the analysed system data, several municipal agencies pro-actively directed health and social activities to this group, including education on nutrition and healthy habits, health screenings and prescription of medicines at the municipal hospital, physical and wellness activities and hydrotherapy, as well as legal support and workshops on gardening or entrepreneurship. 

“Despite local leadership having changed since the beginning of our activities, the use of the integrated data system was a true catalyst for collaboration and open communication within the various teams in the municipality, which is now hard-wired into the city’s standard operations”, said Dr Beltrán. “The use of this digital tool has triggered a shift in mind-set among public officials to address priority determinants of health, and continues to support our work across the health system and with communities”, he concluded.

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This feature story is part of a series compiling country experiences in leveraging multisectoral action for improved NCD and mental health policies and programmes. Read more on the key role of whole-of-government-approaches to tackle NCDs and mental health conditions in the global mapping report, or visit the digital repository on multisectoral action to explore further country experiences.