This detailed Health Performance Annual Report presents the major causes of ill-health and various outputs as performed by the Ministry of Health and the entire Health Sector. It also shows the resources generated and allocated to the health sector.
The primary objective of the 2003 and 2004 Annual report was to provide updated information for policy makers, planners, researchers, programme managers and Health workers, which would allow guidance in the planning, implementation, monitoring of health interventions and population based health programmes. The report 2003/04 represents information analyses of various health issues covering the period 2003 and 2004 with some comparative trends from 2000 in some areas. Most data have been disaggregated to provincial and district levels while specialized services data have been presented by reporting facilities.
Tremendous efforts have been made to improve the reporting in all the subsystems. However, not all health facilities, districts and programmes reported as expected due to various constraints. Despite the incompleteness of reporting, useful information are presented here forth with. Analysis of numerical data for knowledge, predictions or action has been shown with comparative information from districts displayed using tables, graphs, charts, thematic maps and descriptive statistics.
Data for instance, finance, personnel and specialized services have been included. In addition data from Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys and the economic surveys, ERS have been used to compare with the HIS data reasonable trends.
All governments need good statistics; the need is particularly acute where resources are limited and the cost of unwise allocation of funds can mean the difference between survival and death. Reliable and timely health information is an essential foundation of public health action. Investment in the systems for data generation – collection, analysis, dissemination and use will provide timely information to identify problems and needs, track progress, evaluate the impact of interventions and make evidence-based decisions on health policy, programme design and resource allocations.
Reporting on progress towards achieving specified targets for specific indicators has become more important with the introduction of performance based disbursement in several country and Global initiatives such as GAVI, GFATM, RBM, MDGs among others. The efforts to control major diseases need holistic and comprehensive approaches. Health information systems can provide the “glue” to bring together individual and community health interventions.
In the context of Health Sector Reform and decentralization with shift to SWAp approach, health systems are managed as close as possible to the level of service delivery. This shift in functions between the central and peripheral levels generates new information needs and calls for an in-depth restructuring of information systems with changing data collection, processing, analysis and dissemination requirements with one Monitoring and Evaluation framework.
The major challenges to the Monitoring and Evaluation as proposed in the current framework, is the need for standardization and quality health information which the MoH is addressing by the central level. It is equally urgent for development partners to work towards more harmonized approaches aligned with the national health information system.
The division of Health Information System will disseminate the information to all who need it through print and electronic media. The Ministry of Health has already set up its own website which will provide instant information electronically to local and international organizations and individuals. We hope to host future annual reports on our website on time.
It is hoped that the production of this report will stimulate all the districts to make substantial efforts in the collection, analysis and utilization of data for action. At the national level a Health Information System steering committee has been established with the aim of strengthening country health information that is population based, administrative and facility based data. HMIS invites the users of the data and analyses in this report to freely comment on its contents, presentations and format as this will reveal the areas where gaps exist.