H.E. Margaret Kenyatta During The Handing Over Of The 16th Beyond Zero Mobile Clinic To Kwale County
Ladies and gentlemen,It gives me great pleasure to be in Kwale County today.Asanteni Sana for the warm welcome you have accorded us; myself, and the whole beyond zero campaign team, as we deliver the 16th fully kitted mobile clinic.Your County is blessed with some of the finest tourism destinations globally. This is a most valuable asset that you should safeguard and energetically develop.However, Kwale County has a lot of ground to cover with regard to Medical care.
Medical institutions in Kwale are not enough to provide adequate medical services to the residents of the county.
The doctor-patient ratio in Kwale underscores the need to place additional attention and devote extra resources to the health sector.
The average distance to the nearest health facility falls short of the recommended 3 kilometres. These factors have contributed a great deal to a worrying child mortality rate.
Additionally, the fact that many mothers in Kwale deliver at home, most of them without the help of skilled medical personnel, is a situation that needs to be addressed with utmost urgency. However, I am happy to note that the Governor has already made steps to improve this situation by providing 4 ambulances and he has assured me that 6 more ambulances are on the way by the beginning of 2015. Well done Bwana Governor.
In the week that we mark 30 years of HIV in Kenya, I wish to commend the Ministry of Health for the interventions that have brought the HIV prevalence from 10.5 percent in 1996 to 6 percent currently.
Despite this marked improvement, HIV/AIDS statistics are still alarming. For instance, 35 children are newly diagnosed with HIV every day and 1.6 million Kenyans are infected with the virus. Last year alone, we lost almost 60 000 Kenyans to AIDS related causes.
One of the principal reasons behind the launch of the Beyond Zero campaign was specifically to address challenges like these.
Through the First Lady’s Half Marathon we will continue to run to raise funds and awareness towards securing a healthy future for our mothers and children.
Our efforts alone will not be enough. I would like to encourage you to institute similar initiatives that will help cushion efforts by the County Government and indeed the National Government towards addressing the issue of maternal and early childhood deaths. My special thanks go to the County First Ladies who continue to give me support to ensure that we reach our goals to this end. Thank you ladies.
It is now my humble duty and honour to present this fully equipped Beyond Zero mobile clinic proudly sponsored by the Dangote Foundation to your Governor Salim Mgalla Mvuyra on behalf of the people of Kwale County.
Thank you.
May God bless you and bless our beautiful country, Kenya.