Is Kenya a pace setter in universal health coverage?
Kenya’s first lady Margaret Kenyatta and her Mozambique counterpart Mrs Isaura Nyusi have arrived in the lake city of Kisumu ready to unveil three new initiatives aimed at expanding access to quality health care as the country races towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Kisumu.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has arrived in Kisumu County for the launch of the #BeyondZeroMedicalSafari. She is accompanied by the First Lady of Mozambique, H.E Isaura Nyusi @MOH_Kenya @AnyangNyongo @KisumuCountyKE | #UniversalHealthCoverage pic.twitter.com/BdElpYTaf9
— State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) November 22, 2018
The First Ladies will unveil the new National Point of Care Implementation Roadmap under which Kisumu becomes the first beneficiary of the first Point of Care Early Infant Diagnostic (POCEID) device donated by Beyond Zero to the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital.
POCEID technology will allow HIV-exposed infants to be tested at the clinic and receive their results on the same day, supporting the rapid enrolment of HIV-positive infants on life-saving antiretroviral treatment.
The First Lady will also unveil the Kisumu County Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (eMTCT) of HIV/Aids, 2018/22 policy that is aligned to the second Beyond Zero strategic framework for the same period and which she launched earlier in the year. The new initiatives are in line with the Beyond Zero second strategic framework which outlines the First Lady’s commitment and engagement towards the promotion of healthy lives and well-being of women, children and adolescents.
Earlier on Wednesday, the two made an extensive tour of the Kazuri Beads Factory in Nairobi. The factory specializes in the empowerment of women through the manufacture of hand made ceramic jewellery and pottery.
The 2nd Beyond Zero Strategic Framework (2018-2022) is anchored on the principle of leaving no one behind and adopts a life-cycle approach targeting pregnant women and new-borns, infants and children, adolescents and young people, men, older persons and children with disabilities. The framework aims at increasing the number of people under health coverage from the current 16.53 million to 25.74 million.
