I want to use this medium to emphasize the need for the collaborative efforts needed in using data for development and better lives of humanity. Data literacy is key in facilitating good governance and government accountability. Private sectors, public sectors and civil societies including private sectors should share data and ensure there is functional integrated national data system.

1. I want to share lessons I learnt from participating on an online World Bank open Learning
platform which has its topic as “Data for Better Lives: A new Social Contract”.
The greatest lesson I learnt is that data generation, use and re-use of data whether for private or
public intent are quite important in our different societies especially after the emergence of
Covid-19 pandemic.
Data facilitates development in all types of economy and consequently data should be made
available to government, civil societies, entrepreneurs and private sector in general. Regulations
should be made to ensure data availability and protection.
Citizens in the private, public sectors as well as civil societies should demand data to equip
relevant planning and decision makers in doing their jobs and ultimately hold the government
accountable.
The sooner we realize the need for the use of data in driving good governance the better for the
development of our societies.
Government should provide enabling environment that will bring forth an integrated national
data system. An integrated national data system implies that all participants and stakeholders
collaborate in a system in which data are safely produced, exchanged, and used.
Example where machine-generated data have the potential to markedly improve access to
services such as water as sited in the 2021 World Bank Group Report on Data for Better Lives. It
was said that in Kenya, sensors on water hand pumps, which are inoperable in one-third of rural
Africa, provide real time data on their functionality. This systemhelped reduce the average time
to repair a broken pump from 27 days to three days and the median time from six days to one
day.
The example in the above paragraph should be a useful incite in making us see reason why we
need to embrace data generation and use for development of our communities.