Cooperating countries: Rwanda, Tanzania, Austria

Coordinating institution: Medical University of Vienna

Project coordinator: DI Dr. Adnan Jouned

Partner institution: Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute, Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC)

Project duration: 01.07.2026-30.06.2028

Budget: 35.550,00 €

2ReDIF-Health is a collaborative research project that aims to strengthen healthcare data analysis capacity in Tanzania and Rwanda by building a resilient, reusable digital infrastructure based on open-source tools. We will deploy the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership Common Data Model (OMOP CDM); an open community data standard for health databases, and the OHDSI Broadsea platform; a Docker-based environment for OHDSI tools at partner institutions. This will allow federated (decentralized) analysis, meaning each country’s patient data remain securely on local servers while standardizing their format and exchanging data insights. This means that health data never leaves local institutions, enabling cross national research without compromising data privacy, or dealing with national and cross-national legal hurdles. The project addresses the challenge of fragmented health information systems in the Global South by providing an easy-to-deploy “data-to-evidence” platform that tolerates unreliable internet and power outages. The collaboration will include regular virtual meetings and periodic on-site visits, in which the Austrian team (Medical University of Vienna) will work with partners at KCRI (Tanzania) and RBC (Rwanda) to deploy the Broadsea and OMOP infrastructure, train local researchers in data standardization and analysis, and jointly conduct a pilot federated study using synthetic data. The expected impact is twofold: (1) improved capacity in Rwanda and Tanzania to use health data for evidence-based decisions, and (2) expanded national research networks (via OHDSI Austria) to include African healthcare data and partners. This project will produce concrete outputs: 1-a functioning healthcare data platform, 2-trained staff, and 3-scenitific publications, and lay the groundwork for sustained collaboration beyond the funding period.