Murang'a County Governor Irungu Kang'ata has revealed that the AfyaKe System is currently experiencing a downtime, blaming the national government for the technical hitches.
In a notice issued on Monday, June 23, the governor revealed that the national government was responsible for the system and thus the county was not in a position to rectify the unexpected downtime.
Regardless, he assured Murang'a residents that facilities had reverted to manual systems to ensure healthcare services kept going.
"We wish to inform the public that the Afyake System, managed by the Ministry of Health (National Government), is currently experiencing unexpected downtime. This interruption is beyond the control of the County Government," the notice read.
"To ensure continuity of essential services during this period, we have temporarily reverted to manual processes. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we await the full restoration of the system."
Although the health sector is devolved, the system, which aims to digitise health records, is regulated by the national government.
AfyaKE is a comprehensive national health records Management Information System (MIS) for Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
It is a digital platform designed to move the healthcare system from paper-based records to a digital system and to improve the way data is used for patient care, research, and overall hospital management.
The system was developed and launched in 2023 to integrate Kenya’s digital health infrastructure by linking management systems, like the Health Management Information System (HMIS), into a unified, interoperable system.
It aims to ensure different health systems can communicate and helps integrate services like patient records, commodity tracking, and telemedicine into a cohesive digital network.
Since its implementation, however, technical hitches have plagued it in true Kenyan fashion, leaving patients stranded in some cases.
It also raised a privacy concern as the Digital Health Information Management Regulations 2024 show that medical students and researchers will have to pay at least Ksh30,000 to access health data collected under the Social Health Insurance Fund, SHIF.
