By MKT Correspondent
The Ministry of Health is increasing its technological adoption as it seeks to increase efficiency, be cost effective, reduce wastage and expand its reach at the grassroots level.
Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha said that in October 2023, President William Ruto assented to the Digital Health Act No.15 of 2023.
The CS explained that the Act, which formally commenced on November 2, 2023 is in line with both Global and local trends on embracing digital technology in the health sectors to both increase operational efficiency and enhance delivery of health services.
Speaking on Friday at Afya House during a ceremony to receive tablets donated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nakhumicha said, “As a government we are in the race to deliver the promise of Universal Health Coverage (UHC)”.
Nakhumicha explained that the initial investment in the infrastructure and equipment to drive the digital transformation can be expensive and may be a bit prohibitive.
“But we can all agree that where we have deployed these technologies and the results have proven us right,” said Nakhumicha.
The CS explained that they firmly believe that with collaborations with development partners like WHO, they can increase the adoption of technology and increase efficiency.
“I wish to sincerely thank WHO for responding to our request for support in this area and 940 tablets are quite a boost for the work of the National Vaccines and Immunization Programme,” said Nakhumicha.
The CS explained that provision of high quality maternal and child health services is a key part of their focus to enhance primary healthcare as they work towards eliminating preventable maternal and child deaths and accurate data on immunization is essential.
“It is therefore fitting that the tablets will be deployed at the National Vaccines and Immunization Programme where they will help enhance data quality for decision making on our immunization programme. It is my desire and hope that these tablets will go a long way in ensuring that the gaps that we have experienced before on data collection and transmission,” said Nakhumicha.
WHO Country Representative to Kenya Dr Abdourahmane Diallo applauded the Ministry of Health for rolling out an electronic data management system called the Chanjo-KE.