The government has provided high-speed internet to 16 levels 4 and 5 hospitals.
They are connected to the Local Area Networks (LANs) and the National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI).
This initiative aims to allow seamless communication and improve health services. The list of hospitals was not immediately available.
ICT Principal Secretary Jerome Ochieng said more hospitals have been identified to achieve universal health coverage, a pillar of President Uhuru Kenyatta's Big 4 Agenda and of Vision 2030.
“The connectivity to these hospitals is facilitating online and real-time data management for services," Ochieng said.
The PS said the deployment of the IP telephony is targeted for Phase II of the UHC Broadband Connectivity Project.
The digital health systems are aimed at improving hospital administration and patient care. The connectivity in hospitals will ensure proper healthcare for patients and improve telemedicine.
Speaking to students at the National Defence College, Karen, on Friday, the PS said the government has implemented the National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure cable covering all 47 counties with metro LANs at the county headquarters.
A metro LANs is a class of network serving a large geographical area from five to 15km in range.
It allows personal computers and workstations to easily share data at a high rate of transfer and also enables users to access other devices, such as printers, modems or local servers.
In bridging the digital divide in ICT Services, the PS said the ministry has completed laying 8,900km fibre network under all the phases of the NOFBI expansion network.
The NOFBI Cable will provide affordable and quality broadband infrastructure, promote and facilitate open access to underserved areas for education delivery, public safety and healthcare delivery.
This has been made possible through enhanced Broadband Connectivity and reduced costs for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide rural broadband coverage.
The PS said a feasibility study will be carried out this financial year to provide connectivity to the Special Economic Zones of Dongo Kundu, Kenaine, Konza and Naivasha.
On the Constituency Innovation Hubs, the PS said that the constituencies, through CDF are paying for one-time supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the internet access equipment.
The ministry is in turn catering for the configuration and operating of internet monthly recurring bandwidth charges.
He said to date, the ministry has established 220 Ajira Digital Empowerment Centres, trained 400 ICT graduates on ICT high-end skills and trained and connected thousands of youths to online jobs.
(Edited by V. Graham)
