Ruto's wife in Kuala Lumpur

Ruto's wife pleads for mothers and babies

THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2013 - 00:00 -- BY GIDEON KETER

DEPUTY President William Ruto’s wife Rachel has called for more efforts by the government and private sector to improve the wellbeing of mothers and new-born babies.

Speaking at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia yesterday, where she is attending the third global conference on women delivery, Rachel urged stakeholders in the national and continental campaign to focus more on tackling the known causes of maternal and child mortality and allocate more resources for the same.

She expressed concern that Kenya is one of the countries that have scored poorly in taking care of mothers and new-born babies, saying efforts are urgently required to correct the situation.

Rachel said the high mortality rate in Africa is unacceptable and called for effective measures to aggressively address the challenges with sense of urgency.

"In mounting campaigns, more emphasis should be put on those measures that will address the known causes of maternal and child mortality," she said.

Rachel said FGM is still prevalent in various parts of the country despite the Children’s Act which prohibits circumcision of girls under the age of 18 and called for an end to the outdated cultural practice.

She said many women die each year from pregnancy-related complications due to FGM. "This is a sad state of affairs that requires urgent intervention by governments and stakeholders if the lives of mothers and children are to be saved," she said.

Rachel asked the government to invest more in the education of girls, saying education is key to their future contribution to the society and their own sense of fulfilment.

Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak said fighting the causes of new-born deaths, gender inequality and malnutrition are key to guarding against maternal and child mortality.

Razak said investing in reproductive health should be the priority of policy makers in developing countries but regretted that obstacles still exist.