Association Announces Inaugural Health Informatics Awards

JUBA — The South Sudan Health Informatics Association has announced the launch of the National Health Informatics Excellence Awards, an annual recognition programme celebrating the people and institutions who quietly keep the country’s health information flowing. Nominations open today through the association’s website and will close six weeks before the annual conference, where winners will be honoured at a dedicated ceremony.

The awards exist, the association explains, because excellence in this profession is largely invisible: a complete register, a timely report, a county that holds its data review meetings every month — these achievements rarely make headlines, yet they are the difference between a health system that learns and one that stumbles. By naming and celebrating the people behind them, the association aims to lift the entire profession’s visibility, morale and standards.

Six award categories have been announced. The Health Information Officer of the Year honours an outstanding officer at facility or county level, judged on data quality, timeliness and the impact of their data-use practice. The Facility Data Culture Award recognises a health facility whose whole team — leadership, clinicians and support staff — has embedded data review into routine management. The Mentor of the Year celebrates a member of the association’s mentorship network whose guidance has demonstrably grown others. The Rising Star Award recognises a young professional or student showing exceptional promise. The Innovator Award honours a practical, low-cost solution to a real data problem, whether digital or paper-based. And the Institutional Partner Award recognises an organisation that has invested meaningfully in the health information workforce.

Nominations are open to all — colleagues, supervisors, county health directors, programme managers and community members may submit nominations, and self-nomination is explicitly welcomed for the Innovator Award. Shortlisting will be conducted by an independent panel drawn from the association’s leadership, certified trainers and academic partners, with final judging documented in a published citation for transparency. Winners receive a commemorative certificate, complimentary conference registration, a profile feature in the association’s news centre and knowledge base, and — for the Rising Star — a sponsored place in the mentorship programme of their choice.

Full eligibility criteria, nomination forms and the judging rubric are available through the association’s Get Involved pages. The association encouraged members to think generously when nominating: the best candidates for these awards are often the quietest people in the room, the ones whose registers are always complete and whose names appear in nobody’s report.