The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has called for more collaboration in the areas of data protection and privacy assessment in the country .
A statement by the ministry made this known during an online meeting with Data Analytics Privacy Technology Limited led by its Executive Director /Partner, Ambassador Segun Olugbile .
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry , Mr Musa Istifanus, thanked the organisation for its insightful and timely presentation on the need to collaborate to properly assess , co -ordinate and identify the data protection and privacy risks.
The Director , Radio Monitoring and Survey at the ministry, Kilyobas Binga , who represented the permanent secretary , said the presentation was crucial at the time of COVID -19 pandemic and global economic downturn.
He noted that the new normal due to the pandemic called for Ministries , Departments and Agencies to leverage technology through virtual/ online platforms to conduct government business.
Binga stated that the ministry ’s e-government department and the National Information Technology Development Agency were collaborating with the Ministry of Health to work out a robust e- health policy and action plan for the country .
This, according to him , will enable the Ministry of Health to reach out to the public at this time of COVID -19 pandemic.
In his presentation during the online meeting , a Director at DAP , Mr Franklin Akinsuyi, explained the importance of data protection and privacy impact assessment in the present and post COVID -19 phase.
He highlighted the socio - economic effects and how to help organisations identify and minimise the data protection risks of a project /programme or system change where personal data was being processed.
“ Processing data is conducted in a manner that breaches the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation and other international data protection laws . Government institutions need to collaborate to properly assess , co -ordinate and identify the data protection and privacy risks to the population , ” Akinsuyi said .
Akinsuyi added that the benefits of implementing DPIA was to improve awareness and to reduce data protection and privacy risks while executing MDA projects as well as making provision for a uniform and consistent way of assessing risks across ministries .
The Executive Director , Business Development at DAPT , Olutoyin Oloniteru , in his presentation , urged the ministry to collaborate with the Ministry of Health to drive the technology aspect of the e- health process, noting that before any technology could be deployed, there had to be impact assessment on the country ’ s economy.
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