Jeannette Kagame joins Margaret Kenyatta in Marathon aimed at reducing child and maternal mortality

{Many activities in Nairobi town came to a standstill yesterday as people gathered to watch a Marathon aimed at raising funds to support mothers and children. The event which was attended by Madam Jeannette Kagame yesterday morning attracted over 70,000 participants.}

Madam Jeannette Kagame joined Kenya’s First lady Margaret Kenyatta and Rachel Ruto, the wife of Kenyan vice president William Ruto in the Marathon. The Marathon was dabbed ’Beyond Zero Campaign’. It aims at reducing children and mothers’ mortality and was concluded at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.

The event highlights the need to address the matter of mothers and children deaths, reducing HIV/AIDS infections as well advocating against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) which is a common practice in some parts of Kenya.

Margaret Kenyatta said that she preferred the Marathon as a move of mobilizing people to raise the funds needed in ’Beyond Zero Campaign’ since sports is popular Since ’Beyond Zero Campaign’ was launched, it has raised Ksh. 540 million and acquired 36 mobile clinics fully equipped to offer various health services to mothers and children.

These health services include immunization and HIV testing.

Participants during the Marathon held for this annual event, run in categories where some run the distance 21 kilometers, 10 kilometers and others run 5 kilometers.The event expects to collect Ksh. 150 million that will be directed in the program of saving the lives of mothers and children.

The World Health Organization recently released a report indicating that immunization in Rwanda is availed to 99% of the population through health programs for mothers and children with the assistance of community health volunteers.

The report of UN department in charge of fighting AIDS (UNAIDS) released in 2015 indicated that Rwanda has embarked on systems of preventing infections of HIV/AIDS during pregnancy or giving to birth.

Rwanda in 2014 reduced the number of children born with HIV with 88% while new HIV infections among new born in 35 developing countries has increased to 99%.