By Victor Bwire
NAIROBI, Kenya – The right to information, including proactive disclosure of information by public agencies is critical in accountability and citizen involvement in government.
This inclusivity is a major player in getting the critical mass and public support for government projects.
As some aspects are coming out, for example, through information disclosure on the payments and related to health facilities by the Social Health Authority (SHA), the Ministry of Medical Services is engaging constructively with the citizens on critical matters of accountability and transparency.
That’s exactly the power of information, both the supply and demand side are engaging, public displeasure shared, clarifications provided, name and shame of some players- a very great advocacy approach and more importantly, public education happening.
Other ministries ana agencies dealing with mega projects across the country must borrow leaf, that it’s no longer only nice graphics of public projects and coordinated information sharing, public sensitization and critical feedback required by the citizens on public resources that will ensure public support for government interventions and engagement in development.
Let’s invest in communication including pro active information sharing to get citizens to engage and participate in many of the accountability and transparency demands they place on government.
In this era of the Constitutional requirements of Article 35 and the access to information Act 2026, information sharing, and for this matter credible and information released in a timely manner is central to managing public affairs and resources.
The Government of Kenya is a signatory to the Open Government Partnership and has many times indicated its commitment to open governance and adhering to the Constitution.
Big Government projects and the various national security-related interventions have shown one thing in common: we must invest in communication and sustain a coordinated response and information-sharing strategy, especially in this era of misinformation and propaganda.
The National and County Governments and public agencies must invest in communication and information sharing, otherwise, you relegate communication at your own risk.
The Ministry of medical services under the leadership of Hon Aden Duale has adopted a very acceptable standard on right to information in the health sector, which I hope will transcend SHA to other agencies in the sector, for there has been a long-standing recognition of the connection between the right to health and the right to information, which has been highlighted by the various UN human right bodies.
The world health organization (WHO) first enunciated the right to the highest attainable standards of health in its constitution in 1946, identifying health information systems as one of the six essential building blocks which together make a comprehensive health system.
The UN special rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health summarized the importance of access to information and transparency as essential features of an effective health system in his report to the seventh session of the human rights council in 2008.
Transparency is an essential characteristic of any effective health care system. Access to information also empowers individuals to be able to participate effectively in political decisions taken at community, national and international levels that affect provision of quality health care.
For society to monitor if the state is developing appropriate policies to promote access to health, it is necessary for individuals to have access to information about the development and implementation of public health policies.
It is also important for the state to provide information about the specific content of such policies, to analyses how budgetary commitments are delivered.
Provided such health-related information is made available, individuals and groups are made available, individuals and groups can participate more effectively in democratic health-related decision-making at the community, national and international levels.
Access to health information allows civil society groups as well as the media to ensure public accountability and to facilitate scrutiny of governmental decisions on health-related matters.
It is recalled that the European Court of Human Rights affirmed the importance of civil society organizations being able to obtain access to government-held information for the purpose of promoting public debate and playing “their vital role as ‘public watchdogs’”.
Civil society organizations may also engage in activities to promote access to health information.
The communication landscape in Kenya just like in the rest of the world has tremendously changed, demanding of players in both from the public and private sectors to quickly adopt.
People who have ignored communication, especially those targeting mass audiences, whether in public or private, are seeing their brands diminishing as they struggle to find ways of sharing their impact to citizens and communities.
The changed communication landscape requires prioritization of strategic communication, investment in both human and media spend resources quickly helping clients including the government maintain touch and communicate what they doing to get the critical mass required supporting national development.
The Author, Victor Bwire, is a Director of Media Training and Development.
