The Department Health Services has moved to further strengthen the Monitoring and Evaluation function through the formation of an M&E technical working group that will develop County Health M&E plan to enhance accountability & coordination of interventions and track the implementation of various Health Sector initiatives.

During a workshop held today in Kabarnet to review healthcare data, the document proposing the establishment and composition of the M&E Technical Working Group (TWG), a Secretariat and Sub County M&E Committee was discussed and adopted by participants, who were mainly composed of County and Sub County Health Management teams as well as Health Records and Information Officers from across the County.

Among other functions, the TWG will be tasked with advocating for the establishment of the County Health Department M&E unit and coordinating of documenting and reporting activities by various health actors, in order to promote data driven decision-making, planning and implementation of health programs.

According to Departments M&E Coordinator Samuel Limaris, the established TWG will define the roles of various stakeholders and thereby enhance County's capacity to generate, aggregate, analyze, disseminate and use information.

The TWG will play a key role in strengthening the capacity of staff at various levels through the adoption of best practice for better service delivery. It will also help the Department to identify emerging needs related to the implementation of M&E activities, opportunities for innovation, and will communicate these to appropriate stakeholders." Limaris said.

Monitoring and Evaluation are essential because they provide the means to measure progress, learn from experiences, improve interventions, and demonstrate impact, thereby ensuring efficient use of resources and maximizing the effectiveness of programs and projects.