NOT-FOR-PROFIT · EST. 2015 · COLOMBO, SRI LANKA

Improving Critical
Care Through
Data & Surveillance

Nat Intensive Care Surveillance - MORU is a registered Not-for-Profit Organisation in Sri Lanka, dedicated to improving acute and critical healthcare through national surveillance systems, clinical registries, and capacity building across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Our Work ↓ Get in Touch
NICS-MORU Logo

Pioneering routine surveillance of critical care to drive measurable improvement in patient outcomes across low- and middle-income countries.

Founded in 2015 and registered as a Not-for-Profit Organisation in Sri Lanka, our team includes local researchers, data collectors, web application developers, and clinical tutors. Working in close partnership with the Ministry of Health Sri Lanka, we developed one of the first national electronic critical care registries in a lower-middle-income country — and continue to lead acute care surveillance systems across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

What We Do

Our Core Areas of Work

Our work spans digital health infrastructure, clinical research, and frontline capacity building — all focused on improving outcomes for critically ill patients in resource-limited settings.

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National ICU Registry

Working with the Ministry of Health Sri Lanka, we established the world's first national electronic ICU registry in a lower-middle-income country. Building on this foundation, we expanded the model internationally through the Critical Care Asia and Africa (CCAA) network — now spanning 16+ countries and 260+ critical care departments across Asia and Africa.

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Embedded Clinical Trials

The Critical Care Asia and Africa (CCAA) registry platform enables near real-time data capture and embedded multicentre trials. We co-lead large studies on oxygen management, lung-protective mechanical ventilation, and infectious disease management including severe acute respiratory infections.

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Clinical Training & Capacity Building

Through structured 'Train the Trainer' programmes, we have trained nearly 25% of Sri Lanka's critical care nursing workforce. Our NICST courses build local faculty and ensure long-term, sustainable training capability in resource-limited settings.

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Digital Health Innovation

Our in-house team of LMIC-based web developers builds and maintains the software platforms that power our registries and surveillance systems — creating local technical expertise and tools designed for low-resource environments.

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Health Systems Research

We conduct stakeholder-led, mixed-methods evaluations of care delivery, care organisation, and outcomes — feeding directly into quality improvement interventions and supporting academic research across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

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Ministry of Health Partnership

Our surveillance and registry systems were developed in direct partnership with the Ministry of Health Sri Lanka and the Information and Communications Technology Agency (ICTA) — forming a nationally integrated, government-supported model for critical care monitoring.

Impact at a Glance

Numbers That Matter

1st
National electronic critical care registry in any LMIC worldwide
16+
Countries with ICU registries deployed by NICS-MORU across Asia & Africa
260+
Acute & critical care departments contributing to the CCAA registry network
20k+
Patient episodes recorded across 97 ICUs in the multinational registry platform
Geographic Reach

The CCAA Network — ICU Registries Across Asia & Africa

The Collaboration for Research, Implementation and Training in Critical Care in Asia and Africa (CCAA) is a Wellcome-funded community of practice managed by Nat Intensive Care Surveillance - MORU. It supports nationally led ICU registries across 9 Asian and 9 African countries, representing 260+ acute and critical care departments. Every participating ICU implements a common electronic registry enabling near real-time data capture, clinical audit, and embedded multicentre trials.

Network Scale
260+
Acute & critical care departments
Countries
18+
9 in Asia · 9 in Africa
Patient Episodes
20k+
Recorded across 97 ICUs in registry evaluation
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Sri Lanka
SOUTH ASIA · HEADQUARTERS
NICS National Registry

The founding registry — one of the first national electronic critical care registries in any LMIC. Developed with the Ministry of Health and directly managed by Nat Intensive Care Surveillance - MORU since 2013. Covers adult ICUs, neonatal critical care, and paediatric units nationwide.

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Pakistan
SOUTH ASIA
PRICE ICU Registry

The Pakistan Registry of Intensive Care Epidemiology (PRICE) is one of the most established CCAA national registries in Asia. It collects continuous case-mix and outcomes data from multiple ICUs, enabling national benchmarking and supporting multicentre clinical trials including Mega-ROX.

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India
SOUTH ASIA
IRIS Registry

The India Registry of Intensive care Surveillance (IRIS) captures prospective ICU data across multiple centres. Supplemented by qualitative evaluations of care quality in ICUs, its data feeds directly into locally led quality improvement activities and underpins health systems research.

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Bangladesh
SOUTH ASIA
CCAA Registry

Bangladesh ICUs contribute to the CCAA federated registry, with both quantitative data collection and qualitative care evaluations. Active clinical trial sites include the PROCALBAN trial (procalcitonin-guided antibiotic de-escalation in sepsis) and the PEGASUS lung ultrasound trial.

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Nepal
SOUTH ASIA
CCAA Registry

Nepal's participation in the CCAA network has enabled the establishment of a locally led electronic ICU registry capturing case-mix and outcome data. Nepali clinicians are active contributors to network-wide quality indicator development and improvement programmes.

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Afghanistan
SOUTH ASIA
CCAA Registry

One of the founding Asian members of the CCAA network. Afghan ICUs contribute critical care epidemiology data to the multinational registry platform, which has been evaluated for high data quality comparable to registries in high-income settings.

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Malaysia
SOUTHEAST ASIA
CCAA Registry

Malaysian ICUs are part of the CCAA federated registry, contributing high-quality clinical data to the multinational platform. Malaysian collaborators participate in network-wide quality improvement initiatives and multicentre trials coordinated through the CCAA.

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Philippines
SOUTHEAST ASIA
CCAA Registry

The Philippines joins the CCAA network as part of the expansion of the critical care surveillance platform into Southeast Asia, contributing ICU epidemiology data and engaging local clinicians in quality improvement and clinical research capacity building.

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Laos
SOUTHEAST ASIA
CCAA Registry

Laos represents the CCAA's commitment to reaching some of the most resource-limited critical care settings in Southeast Asia. The locally adapted electronic registry helps document care processes and build the evidence base needed to support ICU service development.

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Kenya
EAST AFRICA
CCAA Registry

Kenya is a leading African hub in the CCAA network. Kenyan ICU teams contribute registry data and lead locally initiated clinical studies. Kenya's participation enables benchmarking across the East African region and supports training programmes aligned with local clinical priorities.

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Uganda
EAST AFRICA
CCAA Registry

Uganda's critical care units participate in the CCAA registry, documenting patient outcomes and care processes. Ugandan researchers contribute to network quality indicator development and locally led QI programmes, with a focus on improving sepsis and infectious disease management.

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Ghana
WEST AFRICA
CCAA Registry

Ghanaian ICUs contribute to the CCAA network's expansion into West Africa, collecting prospective critical care data and engaging in the network's quality improvement framework. Ghana plays an important role in broadening the geographic representation of the CCAA evidence base.

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South Africa
SOUTHERN AFRICA
CCAA Registry

South Africa brings significant critical care research expertise to the CCAA network. South African collaborators contribute to multicentre trials including Mega-ROX and provide methodological leadership in registry-based research for the African arm of the collaboration.

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Sierra Leone
WEST AFRICA
CCAA Registry · PROTECT App

Sierra Leone has been an important testing ground for the PROTECT digital health application developed by NICS-MORU. The CCAA registry is now being implemented to establish routine critical care surveillance, supporting the country's nascent ICU capacity.

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Tanzania
EAST AFRICA
CCAA Registry

Tanzania's involvement in the CCAA network supports the development of critical care data infrastructure in East Africa. Tanzanian ICU teams participate in the CCAA registry platform, contributing case-mix and outcome data and engaging in regional quality improvement activities.

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Ethiopia
EAST AFRICA
CCAA Registry

A dedicated study funded by CCAA demonstrated the feasibility and value of an electronic ICU registry in Ethiopia (published 2024). Ethiopian critical care data is being used to guide quality improvement in one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest health systems, supported by NICS-MORU's data platform.

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Mozambique
SOUTHERN AFRICA
CCAA Registry

Mozambique participates in the CCAA network as part of the expansion of critical care surveillance into Southern Africa. The electronic registry supports the development of local data infrastructure and provides epidemiological evidence to guide ICU service strengthening in one of sub-Saharan Africa's most resource-limited health systems.

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Nigeria
WEST AFRICA
CCAA Registry

Nigeria joins the CCAA network as part of its West African expansion, bringing one of the continent's largest health systems into the critical care surveillance platform. The registry supports Nigerian ICUs in collecting standardised case-mix and outcome data, laying the groundwork for national benchmarking and quality improvement.

Our Team

Local Talent, Global Impact

We employ LMIC-based healthcare workers and scientists, providing meaningful employment and opportunity for setting-based research in the region.

01 — RESEARCHERS

Researchers & Scientists

Our team includes postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and MSc graduates working on clinical epidemiology, health informatics, and global health — all based in Sri Lanka.

02 — TECHNOLOGY

Web & Data Engineers

In-house Sri Lankan software developers and data scientists who build and maintain the critical care registry platforms and data analysis pipelines supporting our surveillance mission.

03 — CLINICAL

Clinical Tutors & Data Collectors

Frontline clinicians and trained data collectors embedded within ICU networks across Sri Lanka, ensuring data quality, clinical relevance, and direct patient benefit.

Selected Publications

Research That Drives Change

Our work is published in leading international journals, contributing evidence on critical care delivery in low-resource settings.

NETWORK DEVELOPMENT

Establishing a Critical Care Network in Asia to Improve Care for Critically Ill Patients in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Critical Care, 2020 · Vol 24, No. 608 → View
CLINICAL RESEARCH

Respiratory Support in COVID-19 Patients, with a Focus on Resource-Limited Settings

Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2020 · Vol 102, No. 6 → View
HEALTH SYSTEMS

Leveraging a Cloud-Based Critical Care Registry for COVID-19 Pandemic Surveillance and Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

JMIR Public Health Surveill, 2020 · Vol 6, No. 4 → View
CLINICAL TRIAL

Operationalisation of the Randomized Embedded Multifactorial Adaptive Platform for COVID-19 Trials in a Low and Lower-Middle Income Critical Care Learning Health System

Wellcome Open Research, 2021 · Vol 6, No. 14 → View
CLINICAL TRIAL

Mega-ROX Sepsis: Conservative vs Liberal Oxygenation Targets in Adults with Sepsis in ICU

PMC, 2023 · CCAA Network → View
CLINICAL TRIAL

Mega-ROX Brains: Oxygenation in Acute Brain Injuries in the ICU

PMC, 2023 · CCAA Network → View
Get In Touch

Work With Us

We welcome collaborations with researchers, clinicians, health systems, and funders who share our commitment to improving critical care in low-resource settings.

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Location
YMBA Building, Colombo 8,
Colombo 00800, Sri Lanka
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General Enquiries
info@nicslk.com
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Phone
011 267 9039