The Government is seeking to strengthen its partnership with Save the Children to address gaps in maternal, newborn and child healthcare, with a focus on improving survival rates and access to essential services.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale held talks with a delegation from the organisation, led by its United States Chief Executive Officer and President, Janti Soeripto, on Thursday, November 12.
The meeting focused on child survival, newborn care, nutrition and community health as part of the Government’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda.
Kenya has made progress in child health, with under-five mortality dropping from 41 to 37 deaths per 1,000 live births. Skilled birth attendance has also reached 90 per cent, while stunting rates have fallen from 26 per cent to 18 per cent.
Exclusive breastfeeding has risen to 72 per cent.
However, neonatal mortality remains a concern, with 19 deaths recorded per 1,000 live births against a national target of 12.
The Ministry of Health is looking to improve care for newborns through better-equipped newborn units, neonatal resuscitation and Kangaroo Mother Care.
The Government is also implementing the Every Woman, Every Newborn, Everywhere (EWENE) Acceleration Plan, while the Social Health Authority’s Primary Healthcare Fund is supporting access to deliveries and essential newborn services.
At the community level, more than 107,000 Community Health Promoters have been deployed across the 47 counties to help households access basic health services.
The Ministry is also working to incorporate nutrition screening, counselling and referrals into primary healthcare services as part of efforts to address malnutrition.
During the meeting, Duale highlighted the role of digital health systems in tracking maternal and newborn health outcomes and identifying gaps in service delivery.
The discussions identified several areas where the Government and Save the Children could work more closely, including care for small and sick newborns, training and mentorship of health workers, community nutrition programmes and the use of data to guide healthcare decisions.
The two parties also spoke about the problems being faced by children living in arid and semi-arid regions in terms of drought, food shortage and climatic impacts on nutrition and healthcare access.
Duale requested for partnerships that would assist counties in preparations of emergency, sustain healthcare services as well as provision of nutrients during emergencies.
Moreover, he requested development partners to coordinate their support in line with government priorities and health plans of the counties as well as sustainable financing.
For the deliberations to bear fruits, the Cabinet Secretary suggested that technical committees from the two institutions develop a programme, set target and share responsibilities.
He added that the two parties can come up with an MoU to formalize their partnership.
Present in the deliberations were Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards Mary Muthoni, Save the Children Country Director for Kenya and Madagascar Pornpun Rabiltossaporn, Director of Primary Health Care Dr Joel Gondi and Head of the National Vaccines and Immunization Programme Dr Rose Jalang’o.
