Kenya is stepping up efforts to improve maternal and newborn health as the government deepens strategic partnerships aimed at accelerating progress towards Universal Health Coverage and strengthening the delivery of quality healthcare services.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale held talks with Jhpiego President and Chief Executive Officer Dr Allyson Bear and her delegation to explore expanded collaboration under the Government’s Every Woman, Every Newborn, Everywhere (EWENE) agenda.
The discussions focused on addressing persistent challenges affecting women and newborns, including maternal hemorrhage, gaps in healthcare-worker skills and limited access to appropriate medical technologies.
Duale called for stronger coordination between the government and development partners to ensure that external support is aligned with national health priorities and directed to areas where it can have the greatest impact.
He reaffirmed the government’s One Plan, One Budget and One Accountability approach, stressing the need to minimize duplication of interventions while ensuring available resources are used efficiently.
Under the planned collaboration, Jhpiego’s reproductive, maternal and newborn health programmes will be aligned with the EWENE agenda, with an initial focus on 18 priority counties identified by the government.
The Ministry of Health has also welcomed planned Jhpiego support for newborn care in five counties. The government will guide the selection of the counties and health facilities considered to have the greatest need for additional support.
Maternal and newborn health interventions will also be integrated with existing HIV and family-planning programmes to strengthen continuity of care for women from pregnancy through childbirth and the postnatal period.
Workforce development is expected to form another major component of the partnership. Healthcare workers will receive mentorship, virtual learning opportunities and targeted capacity-building in line with Kenya’s national mentorship guidelines.
The initiative is intended to strengthen healthcare workers’ skills and improve the quality of maternal and newborn services delivered in health facilities.
The partnership will further support the use of digital health technologies to strengthen decision-making and improve monitoring of health programmes.
The Ministry is developing a health-sector command centre dashboard designed to consolidate critical health indicators, monitor performance, identify service-delivery gaps and facilitate timely interventions across maternal and newborn health, HIV, tuberculosis and other priority programmes.
Jhpiego has supported Kenya’s health sector for 48 years through programmes covering family planning, reproductive health, malaria, HIV, and maternal and newborn health.
According to the Ministry, Jhpiego’s current portfolio includes 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 explored ways of translating commitments made at the Global Maternal Health Conference into practical interventions that can improve outcomes for women and newborns in Kenya.
As the government continues to pursue sustainable approaches to healthcare financing and service delivery, the Ministry says technical partnerships will remain important in strengthening national implementation capacity.
Duale emphasized that partnerships bringing technical expertise, innovation and financial resources must complement government efforts, strengthen national health systems and deliver measurable improvements to Kenyans.
The Ministry of Health and Jhpiego reaffirmed their commitment to closing persistent gaps in maternal and newborn care, with the shared goal of ensuring that every woman and every newborn in Kenya have a better chance of surviving and thriving.
