Silverio Omari
Kenya has pledged to strengthen partnerships and establish a dedicated fund aimed at improving maternal and child health.
During an event at the 79th UN General Assembly in New York, President William Ruto emphasized that urgent, collective action is necessary to save millions of lives by 2030. He stated that the fund will help further progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by enhancing service delivery and increasing access to essential healthcare.
While acknowledging Kenya’s significant achievements in reducing maternal and under-five mortality rates, Ruto pointed out ongoing challenges such as inadequate funding and limited capacity to provide necessary services. He stressed that a multi-sectoral approach—incorporating healthcare, education, and community support—is crucial for accelerating mortality reduction.
“It is essential to increase investment, enhance collaboration, and focus on primary healthcare to scale up key interventions such as skilled birth attendants, vaccinations, and improved nutrition,” Ruto asserted.
From an economic perspective, maintaining a healthy population is highly advantageous, with research indicating that every dollar invested in maternal and child health can yield nine dollars in returns through enhanced health and productivity. Ruto noted that an annual investment of USD 1.5 billion could potentially save 35 million lives by 2030 and generate USD 100 billion in productivity and healthcare savings.
The high-level event was titled “Securing the Health and Well-Being of Every Woman, Child, and Adolescent: Political Leadership to Achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.”
UNICEF Director of Child Nutrition and Development, Victor Aguayo, contended that the proposed Child Nutrition Fund could significantly impact maternal and child nutrition. He explained that this fund has the potential to tackle the child malnutrition crisis and revolutionize philanthropy in this sector.
“Historically, maternal and child nutrition efforts have overly depended on the goodwill of global donors, which has resulted in some progress but left critical areas unaddressed,” Aguayo noted. He pointed out that early prevention of malnutrition among vulnerable children has often been overlooked.
“We urgently need a new approach to effectively respond to the global child malnutrition crisis and to sustainably fund global maternal and child nutrition initiatives,” he said.
A report from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation indicates that while these interventions are promising, they require adequate resources and scalable implementation plans. The Fund aims to bring these innovative solutions to fruition and transform global responses to child malnutrition.
The Child Nutrition Fund addresses these challenges collectively, drawing on successful financing mechanisms, such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, which has saved nearly 60 million lives.
“Now, the Child Nutrition Fund is adopting a similar strategy to confront child malnutrition directly, in collaboration with countries around the globe,” the report concluded.
Dj Vnyash
