IASO as Nutritional Programme Beneficiary Tracking Tool

September 18, 2024

With the addition of Entities and Workflows, IASO can today handle nutritional programmes tracking, and is currently used for the tracking of children under five and pregnant or breastfeeding women, helping to ensure they receive the necessary nutritional support.

Undernourished or malnourished populations need special nutritional intakes, and following these recommendations can be a game-changer for the beneficiaries’ recovery. This can be done manually by noting down at every beneficiary visit the key indicators and then take the necessary decisions, at the risk of bringing human errors in. Furthermore, paper-based tracking does not allow a clear “big picture” overview of the efficiency of the nutritional programmes in place. That is why digitalizing these processes can bring a huge added value. 

IASO can today handle such nutritional programmes workflows, and is currently used for the tracking of children under five and pregnant or breastfeeding women, helping to ensure they receive the necessary nutritional support.

New IASO Features for Digital Tracking of Nutritional Programme Beneficiaries: Entities, Workflows, Duplicates management, NFC cards

From 2022 to 2023, IASO underwent key updates to adapt to the needs of nutritional programme tracking. One of the major improvements was the introduction of “entities” representing the individuals receiving aid, also known as beneficiaries. By moving from traditional paper records to a fully digital system, programme operators can now monitor and manage beneficiary data more effectively, which helps reduce errors and enable large-scale data analysis thanks to dedicated dashboards. 

Another key addition to IASO in this context is its ability to handle workflows, which automatically open a specific list of questions during a visit based on the answers provided in previous questionnaires. For nutritional programmes, this means that a beneficiary’s weight-height score or Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) measurement triggers the appropriate next steps. For example, if a score indicates a child is at risk, IASO automatically directs them to the relevant nutritional programme, ensuring that follow-up care is based on urgency.

In large-scale nutritional programmes, duplicate entries can disrupt accurate tracking and reporting. That is why IASO also has an entity comparison feature which helps manage the challenge of duplicate beneficiary records. The entity comparison tool allows operators to set criteria and compare beneficiaries based on specific data points, identifying and merging duplicates where necessary. This ensures that beneficiary data remains clean and accurate, preventing resources from being misallocated.

IASO also handles the record of key beneficiary data within a personal NFC card that can be used visit after visit, hence facilitating the direct reading of a beneficiary’s records such as the nutritional programme she/he had been assigned to, last weight-height and MUAC scores, status of food package distribution, etc. 

Extending IASO’s Use Beyond Nutritional Programmes

The flexibility of IASO has led to its application in other contexts as well. Following its successful use in nutritional programme tracking, IASO’s entity feature was implemented in the MILDA distribution campaign in Côte d’Ivoire in July 2024. The platform tracked mosquito net distribution to beneficiaries, showing its potential to be adapted to various humanitarian efforts.

All in all, IASO’s newest additions of entities and workflows offer a practical and efficient solution for nutritional programmes in food crisis regions, but not only. While the system has already proven useful, its continued development and adaptation show great promise for future applications.

Trusted by

IASO has become a trusted name for health data management with implementations in 12 countries and two large-scale multi-country projects, in support to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and UN nutrition programs.
  • World Health Organization
  • The World Bank
    The World Bank
  • USAID
  • Unicef
  • GAVI logo
    Gavi
  • Cordaid
  • Lifenet logo
    Lifenet international
  • Abt Associates
    Abt Associates
  • SANRU - Soins de Santé primaires en milieu Rural (DRC)
    SANRU - Soins de Santé primaires en milieu Rural (DRC)
  • Cameroon Expanded Programme on Immunization
    Cameroon Expanded Programme On Immunisation
  • Ministry of Health Burkina Faso
    Burkina Faso Ministry of Health
  • Cote d'Ivoire Malaria National Programme
    Cote d'Ivoire Malaria National Programme
  • Democratic Republic of Congo Ministry of Health
    Democratic Republic of Congo Ministry of Health
  • Niger Ministry of Health
    Niger Ministry of Health

Latest about IASO

With the addition of Entities and Workflows, IASO can today handle nutritional programmes tracking, and is currently used for the tracking of children under five and pregnant or breastfeeding women, helping to ensure they receive the necessary nutritional support.

In 2024, Bluesquare worked hand in hand with the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) in Côte d’Ivoire to digitalize the microplanning, household enumeration, and distribution processes of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) through the IASO digital platform.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), fragmented health facility data poses significant challenges to resource allocation and service delivery. The implementation of IASO in the DRC to idenfity health facilities location and their available equipment has led to remarkable improvements in the quality and accessibility of health facility data.

In Cameroon, the micro-planning of vaccination campaigns has traditionally been a manual, often cumbersome process. The digitization of this process, particularly through tools like IASO, marks a significant advancement in enhancing the efficiency and impact of these campaigns.

As part of efforts to improve healthcare coverage in Niger, the georegistry features of IASO have played a crucial role in identifying and managing 329 community health workers in the Tahoua and Dosso regions in 2024.

IASO has partnered with LifeNet International to develop a unified M&E platform that spans six countries—Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, and Ghana. This platform integrates geo-structured data collection, decentralized user management, and seamless DHIS2 integration, empowering LifeNet to improve healthcare coordination across its extensive network.

Two districts in Burkina Faso happened to have very low COVID-19 vaccination coverage. IASO was used to conduct a household survey according to pre-defined geographic areas, in order to guide future vaccination strategies.

Polio vaccination campaigns calendar based on IASO

Bluesquare has brought forward IASO’s advanced geographic data management capabilities as a solution to develop a more integrated approach to managing polio vaccination campaigns across Africa with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

Ready to get started?

Request demo account

Fill out the information below to create a IASO demo account. You will receive an email with temporary credentials.

Form successfully saved. Please check your inbox (including your spam folder) and click on the validation link to complete your request.
Please wait while the form is being saved.