In fact, in many previous government programs, unreliable data has stood between it and its desired goals. Food security, for example, has been lacking solid data on agricultural land available and national rice production, while the social protection for those affected by the prolonged pandemic has been marred by data discrepancy between the central government and local governments.

Despite improvements made in population data collection, the data on eligible voters has become a source of acrimony between the government, political parties and candidates — both in national and regional elections — for many years.

Data matters as it will define the success of a program. Particularly for governments who want their policies to answer their people’s needs, a data compromise is unforgiven.

Indonesia’s mass vaccination drive, which kicked off on Jan. 13, aims to end the debilitating pandemic once for all. Not only has COVID-19 infected nearly 940,000 people and killed more than 26,800, it has also stalled economic growth and pushed millions into poverty since the crisis began in March last year.

It took only a few days for data problems to unfold for the nationwide inoculation effort. Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) spokesman Halik Malik told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that many doctors had faced difficulties registering for the vaccination program through an application provided by the government.

As of Tuesday, 483,000 of 1.3 million health workers and supporting staff members have signed up for the COVID-19 jab, 41,300 of whom received the first shots of the dual-dose vaccine produced by China’s big pharm Sinovac Biotech.

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