59th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at the UN headquarters in New York
In March 2015, the First Lady convened a successful side event on the side lines of the 59th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The side event demonstrated the Beyond zero campaigns’ catalytic role in addressing critical area number 3 of the Beijing Platform for Action relating to “inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to health care and related services”.
Through an 8 minute documentary, Kenya’s First Lady introduced the campaign as one of the initiatives to complement government’s efforts in fast tracking the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (4, 5 and 6).
Participants in the side event lauded Kenya’s First Lady for stepping out of her comfort zone and undertaking marathons as a means for awareness creation and resource mobilisation to support Maternal, Neo-natal and child health programmes. This intervention was lauded for its personal touch, authenticity, innovativeness, personal commitment and sacrifice that have not been witnessed amongst leaders for the cause of mothers and their children. Several calls for replication of this model in other countries in Africa were made at the plenary discussions.