Kisii County government to meet burial expenses for Mandera massacre victims

Kisii County Governor James Ongwae has announced that his government will foot the funeral expenses for the victims of the Mandera bus massacre who hailed from the county.

Kisii and Kakamega counties have been deeply affected after they lost 20 out of 28 people executed by Al-Shabaab militants in the November 22, 2014 dawn shooting.

Speaking Tuesday when he received the 13th Beyond Zero mobile clinic from First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, Governor Ongwae said his government will support the bereaved families with transport and funeral expenses.

Before addressing the gathering, the First Lady led the residents in observing a minute of silence in honour of the 28 victims.

The handing-over ceremony of the mobile clinic took place at Kisii High School.

In her speech, the First Lady called on the Kisii County government to coordinate its available resources so as to contain the high rate of HIV infections in the county.

She said HIV prevalence in Kisii is above the national average with 60,000 people living with the virus, 10 per cent of whom are children.

“Almost 2,000 people died of Aids related complications in 2013 translating to 40 people per week,” she revealed.

She said the situation in the county is further aggravated by the practice of female genital mutilation and early marriages amongst members of the Kisii community.

She therefore called on Kisii leaders to help curb the retrogressive cultural practices so as to inspire young girls and boys to achieve their dreams.

“These marriages deny our girls the opportunity to get education and contribute to national development,” she said.

She stressed the need to use modern medical technologies to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

PERSONAL COMMITMENT

The Beyond Zero campaign, said the First Lady, is a vehicle being used to fulfil a personal commitment she made at the 2013 Organisation of African First Ladies against AIDS (OAFLA) meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

At the meeting, said the First Lady, African first ladies committed themselves to the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and keeping mothers and children alive.

“There is no greater satisfaction for me as a mother and the First Lady than to fulfil these commitments I made on the global stage, but more importantly to serve the people of Kenya,” she added.

She said the Beyond Zero campaign is an initiative aimed at rallying leaders, business people and communities towards facilitating the efforts of the Ministry of Health to meet certain goals.

The First Lady commended the Kisii County Health Management Team for drawing up a good programme to utilise the clinic for the benefit of its residents.

The mobile clinic, she said, will be used to deliver essential health services such as vaccination, antenatal care, treatment of sick children and parents, HIV testing and treatment.

On issues of health, Governor Ongwae said the county government has allocated over Sh2 billion which is about 33 per cent of its budget to improve the county’s health sector.