Lack of statistics on prevalence of diseases and their distribution in various parts of Kenya cause too much wastage in some areas and a shortage in others.
According to the outgoing permanent secretary at the former Ministry of Information and Communication Dr Bitange Ndemo there has been constant shortages of drugs hitting the health sector in the country as data is yet to be collated to show which diseases affect different areas.
Using malaria as an example, Ndemo noted the government has continued to distribute medicine equally among the counties despite it being clear the disease is more prevalent in some areas and almost non-existent in others.
Equally, he said the success of counties in far flung areas of the country, would have to be moulded on the basis they will need more support compared to others such as Mombasa, Kiambu and Nairobi, which he said now control 80 per cent of the country’s GDP.
“Data is divided in counties for obvious comparative reasons and the lack of data on the health sector has led to news of expiry of drugs as other hospitals complain of shortages. Why do we take medicine to areas where the ailments are unheard off?” said Ndemo.
He said the government allowing private players access to such data would enable researchers and developers to put in place software that could easily map the country depending on need.
Ndemo’s view was supported by ICT minister Fred Matiangi, who said government data can only be formatted in response to the demands of the industry.
He said although players have been asking for raw data it was important for the government to release data that was important to be interpreted by the public.
“The users of the information are the ones to determine how data is to be availed to them depending on their various needs. The government’s data cannot be tailor made for a certain interest group but once the groups have the data can always modify it to suit their need,” said Matiangi.
