Kenya off track on health-related MDGs, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta says

What you need to know:

  • The First Lady said Kenya might not achieve goal four and five that targets to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health by 2015.
  • She lamented that many women and newborns were dying unnecessarily in Kenya.

Kenya is off track in its efforts to achieve two health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has said.

The First Lady said Kenya might not achieve goals four and five, which aim to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health by 2015.

“With less than 500 days remaining, Kenya is clearly off track to achieving MDGs four and five on maternal and child health,” she said Wednesday.

She urged health stakeholders to make maternal and newborn survival a priority.

“Our health systems must deliver for our mothers,” she said in her remarks during the opening of a consultative meeting on maternal and newborn health.

She lamented that many women and newborns were dying unnecessarily in Kenya, saying the trend was unacceptable and should be reversed.

ALARMING STATISTICS

“In this country we lose over 5,500 mothers every year, a statistic too hard to take as normal in this age of development and fifty years post-independence.

“These statistics indicate that we will have lost 18 to 20 mothers by the end of today, which is equivalent to an 18-seater minibus with pregnant women crashing and killing all the passengers every day,” she said.

She said most of the deaths are avoidable and preventable.

The First Lady said Kenya had a chance to reverse the trend to meet the goals and commended government efforts to offer free maternity services and improve the skills of health workers.

She said health services had been devolved, giving the country a chance to tailor interventions to ensure the two goals are achieved.