Kenya is strengthening strategic partnerships to accelerate progress towards Universal Health Coverage, with maternal and newborn health remaining a priority in ongoing health-sector reforms.
Health Cabinet Secretary (CS), Aden Duale, reaffirmed this commitment when he met Jhpiego President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Allyson Bear, and her delegation to discuss expanded collaboration in advancing the government’s Every Woman, Every Newborn, Everywhere agenda.
During the meeting, CS Duale called for a coordinated approach that aligns Government and development-partner interventions with national priorities.
He also reaffirmed the One Plan, One Budget and One Accountability principle, emphasising that partner resources should target areas of greatest need and avoid duplication.
Specifically, the discussions identified maternal hemorrhage, healthcare worker skills, and access to appropriate technologies as priority areas requiring accelerated action.
“Jhpiego’s reproductive, maternal, and newborn health programmes will be aligned with the EWENE agenda, with an initial focus on the 18 priority counties identified by the government,” announced the CS.
Further, Duale welcomed Jhpiego’s planned support for newborn care in five counties where the Government will guide the selection of counties and health facilities requiring the greatest support.
“Maternal and newborn interventions will also be linked with ongoing HIV and family-planning programmes to strengthen continuity of care from pregnancy through childbirth and beyond,” he added.
Pointing out that health-workforce development will form a key part of the collaboration, the CS highlighted that healthcare workers will receive mentorship, virtual learning, and targeted capacity-building within Kenya’s national mentorship guidelines to strengthen the delivery of quality maternal and newborn services.
According to Duale, the partnership will also support the use of digital health to improve decision-making, with the Ministry developing a health-sector command center dashboard to consolidate critical indicators, monitor performance, identify gaps, and support timely action across maternal and newborn health, HIV, tuberculosis, and other priority programmes.
Notably, Jhpiego has supported Kenya’s health sector for 48 years through programmes covering family planning, reproductive health, malaria, HIV, and maternal and newborn health. Its current portfolio comprises 13 projects, with approximately KSh5.2 billion invested across 22 counties and more than 1,800 health facilities over the past two years.
The engagement also considered how commitments from the Global Maternal Health Conference can be translated into practical interventions.
As Kenya pursues sustainable approaches to healthcare financing and service delivery, technical partnerships will remain important in strengthening national implementation capacity.
Bottom line, Duale affirmed that partnerships bringing expertise, innovation, and resources must complement Government efforts, strengthen national systems, and deliver measurable improvements for Kenyans.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Jhpiego reaffirmed their commitment to closing persistent gaps in maternal and newborn care and giving every woman and every newborn a better chance to survive and thrive.
By Michael Omondi
