Kenya launches health data collection initiative

NAIROBI, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's health officials on Wednesday launched data collection initiative to harmonize statistics collection across all health institutions in the country.

Cabinet Secretary for Health Cleopa Mailu said the Health Data Collaborative Framework will strengthen and standardize measurement and accountability structure for monitoring achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 of ensuring health lives and promoting well being for all at all ages.

"Previously collection of data on patient health and health sector in general has been fragmented, with multiple parallel programs and disease-based measurement and evaluation systems," Mailu said in Nairobi.

He said the launch of the initiative was the culmination of a high level four-day all-inclusive consultative forum in Nairobi that brought together Kenya's national and county governments and other stakeholders in the health sector.

Mailu said Kenya is one of the five countries that have been selected by the Global Health Data Collaborative to receive this support.

The aim of the mission is to promote technical and political support in the health sector and accountability platform to raise the profile of post-2015 SDGs, and agree on a high level roadmap for implementation of priority health information systems.

"The initiative is timely, coming at a time when Kenya is mobilizing stakeholders at national and county levels to work together to effectively use the resources available to accelerate various interventions and track key government investments," Mailu noted.