SPEECH BY HER EXCELLENCY MARGARET KENYATTA,

FIRST LADY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING

THE TICAD-V1 FIRST LADIES CONFERENCE ON
INVESTING IN MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH FOR
SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN AFRICA- SPOTLIGHT
ON EVIDENCE AND BASE INTERVENTIONS AT THE
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, NAIROBI ON 27TH
AUGUST 2016.
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Good morning! It gives me great pleasure to welcome you
to Nairobi and to Kenya! Karibuni Sana.
I am pleased that so many of you were able to visit Kenya,
especially to those of you visiting for the first time. Please
feel at home and experience our warm Kenyan hospitality,
cuisine and culture. And time permitting, some of our
renowned
wildlife.
Kenya is honoured to be the first African country to be
hosting the 6th TICAD Summit and the Spouses Forum on
the theme Investing in Maternal and Child Health for
Social Transformation' where we shall share and learn
about evidence based interventions that have made a
difference to improving maternal and child health in
Africa.
On a personal level, the subject we shall be discussing
today is one that is very close to my heart. But, more than
that, the issues are critical to the development of this
region, issues that require partnerships and multi-sectoral
investments at public and private sector levels, and also
at government to government level.
I would like to particularly thank First Lady Madam Abe for
her country's dependable support as a co-organiser of this
Summit, and for Japans unwavering commitment to the
welfare of Africa and all its citizens. I also want to thank
the sponsors of this conference Japan International

Cooperation Agency, Global Fund, African Union

Commission and Japan Centre for International Exchange,
and other partners for making this forum possible.
To our esteemed speakers and panelists, thank you for
accepting to share your knowledge with us, we look
forward to an exciting session of learning, reflecting and
deepening our commitment towards accelerating the
reduction of maternal and newborn mortality in our
countries.
Here in Kenya, I have seen commitments made at many
levels and by diverse stakeholders all partnering towards a
single, shared goal of ending maternal and child mortality.
I have witnessed it through my Beyond Zero Initiative which we will learn more about in a few minutes. In fact,
as a result of the overwhelming support at the local,
regional and international level, what began as a promise
to deliver mobile clinics across the country, today has
evolved into the next phase of the Initiatives vision - to
build a Beyond Zero Referral Hospital here in Kenya, in
order to deal not just with maternal and child health, but
with other pressing concerns like HIV and increasingly
pervasive problems like cancer and heart disease, and
critical
neonatal
care.
This hospital was inspired by my visit to the Aiiku Hospital
in Tokyo, Japan one year ago. The model has already been
created, and you may have had an opportunity to visit the
display as you arrived. We are incredibly proud of this
project which, to a large extent, will be an enduring
symbol of what can happen when we all come together,
when we all commit to making a difference to improving
the lives of vulnerable communities.
I believe that this is why we have all have come together
today - to make a difference, and I have no doubt that
through this forum, with renewed zeal and passion, we will
accomplish greater things than we imagined possible.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to close by sharing
with you the journey of Beyond Zero seen through the
eyes of Kenyans.

Let me once again warmly welcome you to Kenya.

Thank you.