Mr Baguma(L) , Mr. Onapito(m) and Linda (R)
Bright Onapito, a data and artificial intelligence policy officer at the United Natiosn Global Pulse says in order to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030, data is important for strategic planning
He says data is extremely important in accelerating the implementation of the sustainable development Goals by 2023.However he raised the concern in the way data is being kept especially in public institutions.
He noted that in most public institutions like local government offices, hospitals, schools, and government departments data is still kept in books which he said is analogue.
According to him, government must get interested in digitizing data to improve efficiency for better service delivery.
He made the remarks during a Youth Training on the importance of Data use in accelerating SDGs implementation by 2030 organized by United Nations Association of Uganda at Nob view Hotel in Ntinda.
The training was organized in collaboration UNAU’s partners from Tanzania, Kenya, Finland, and the World Federation of United Nations Association.
Onapito also said that the other bottlenecks for credible Data is the culture of not sharing information among Ugandans.
‘’Ugandans having a culture of not sharing, most of them feel they are not safe with releasing out their information’’ he said.
‘’Data sharing must be done responsibly because some data is personal and private, and therefore it should be done within the laws around data protection and the right mechanisms to share both personal and non-personal data among different stakeholders’’ he added.
Onapito also disclosed that UN Global Pulse together with the ministry of ICT are at a draft stage of the National Data Strategy, where they are urging all stakeholders to give them feedback.
The National Data Strategy is an initiative by the government through the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance with support from UN Global Pulse and the United Nations Development Program which aims at maximizing the value of data and create a data-driven economy. The policy will ensure the sharing of data for mutual, he said.
“By creating digital registries and connecting data from various sources, Uganda can create a more efficient and effective data strategy for its citizens.” he said.
UNAU Secretary General Richard Baguma Tinkasimiire, who was speaking at the same event said that they recognize that statistics and data are the basis for planning for the population.d
“Once you ignore using data in implementing any program it becomes a concern in achieving targets”, we think it’s crucial to make plans and investment depending on data and statistics. He said.
One her part, Marie Nanyanzi a senior programs officer at Twaweeza who was one of the facilitators said failure by duty bearers to come up with policies based on evidence and data, they would always come up with policies that don’t help the ordinary Ugandans.
Reports show that in Uganda the SDGs have only reached 15% of their target, and at the national level, 64% of indicators in the National Development Plan don’t have data. Despite being at the tail end of NDP3, the country is only at 40% success due to lack of data.
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