Nandi county Woman Representative Hon. Zipporah Kering has called upon the expectant mothers in the region to embrace the Beyond Zero campaign by ensuring they visit clinics for maternal health care services as it is good for their health.
Speaking at the County Referral Hospital in Kapsabet when she made a visit to the maternity wing where two mothers had given birth to twins and triplets, Kering urged women to utilize the facilities well to get better services. She added that the Beyond Zero mobile clinic has improved maternal health in the County and in the whole country.
She said maternal services are offered free of charge, and women should utilize and enjoy these services by visiting the facility.
She gave out donations of baby clothing and food to the two mothers, urging them to take good care of their kids and applauding them for delivering at the hospital as they made the right choice.
The Women Rep. thanked the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta for introducing the Beyond Zero campaign initiative which has helped a lot in the promotion of maternal, newborn, and child health care in Kenya.
Beyond zero campaign is part of the initiatives outlined in the strategic framework by the First Lady in HIV control and promotion of maternal, newborn, and child health in Kenya that was unveiled on World AIDS Day in 2013.
The framework aims to galvanize high-level leadership when it comes to ending new HIV infections among children and reducing HIV-related deaths among women and children in Kenya.
On the other hand, the County Nursing Officer Mrs. Elizabeth Kaduda said since the Beyond Zero Campaign mobile clinic was introduced, many women in Nandi have realized the importance of delivering in hospitals adding that the percentage has increased from 50 to 80%.
“We normally receive approximately 100 to 200 mothers monthly and 500 to 1000 mothers annually who come for maternal services,” she said.
She revealed that the only challenge they face is a lack of enough space as the facility is too congested and needs to be expanded, and she called upon the Nandi County government to take care of the lingering situation.