| PHOTO: | First Lady Margaret Kenyatta with Melinda Gates, the Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda gates Foundation at State House on June 28, 2016. |
|
| |
|
|
By:
PSCU
|
| Posted:
Jun,29-2016 12:15:37
|
|
| |
|
Melinda Gates has pledged to support First Lady Margaret Kenyatta's Beyond Zero campaign in a bid to step up efforts towards eliminating maternal and child deaths in Kenya.
The wife of American business magnet and philanthropist Bill Gates made the commitment on Tuesday when she paid a courtesy call on the First Lady at State House, Nairobi.
Melinda said the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation will partner with Beyond Zero to scale up access to quality health services for mothers and children.
She pointed out that her foundation, which has invested a lot in the mission to rid the world of maternal deaths, will fund some of the campaigns' activities.
Already, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supports several health initiatives in Kenya working in close collaboration with the government.
She said it is for this reason that they would like to work closely to ensure more women, children and adolescent girls are reached.
"We have been working in Kenya for quite some time and our focus has been on various sectors including agriculture, health, financial services and social justice," said Melinda.
She said the foundation is also collaborating with county governments to facilitate projects that would make positive impact to Kenyans living in the rural areas.
Melinda, who was briefed on the activities of the Beyond Zero Initiative and the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA), said she will bring men on board so that the latter participate in health promotion activities.
The First Lady also updated Melinda on the positive impact her Beyond Zero campaign has had on Kenyan families.
"What made me initiate this campaign was the high statistics on maternal and child mortality," said the First Lady.
She also talked about the 9th "Stop Cervical Breast and Prostate Cancer in Africa" conference which was held in Nairobi last year.
Margaret said it was encouraging to see more men present themselves for prostate cancer screening, saying this is an indication that more Kenyan men are now taking issues of family health seriously.
"When we held the 9th Stop Cervical Breast and Prostate Cancer in Africa last year, the clinics were on the ground and most of the clients were men," the First Lady said.
|
|
Source:
|
|
.jpg)
RSS