The programme is expected to directly benefit more than 652,000 people while indirectly reaching another 630,000 residents through expanded maternal, newborn and emergency healthcare services.

📻 Breaking It Down

NAIROBI, Kenya Jun 10 – China has committed Sh390 million towards a new maternal and newborn health programme targeting northeastern Kenya, where women and infants continue to face some of the highest mortality rates in the country despite broader national progress in healthcare.

The initiative, funded by the Chinese government through the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund and implemented in partnership with UNICEF, will focus on Garissa, Wajir and Mandera counties.

The programme is expected to directly benefit more than 652,000 people while indirectly reaching another 630,000 residents through expanded maternal, newborn and emergency healthcare services.

📌 What You Need to Know

Speaking during the launch in Nairobi on Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Guo Haiyan said the project reflects China’s growing commitment to supporting healthcare and development priorities across Africa.

“Maternal and child health cooperation has always been a key priority of Global South cooperation as it serves to protect basic human rights and safeguard human dignity,” she said.

Guo noted that the programme was designed to respond to local healthcare challenges and would focus on practical, measurable interventions.

“First, we will ensure precision cooperation based on actual needs. Second, we will invest in capacity building of health workers. Third, we will uphold strict and standardised management of resources,” she said.

The ambassador said the initiative also builds on agreements reached during President William Ruto’s State Visit to Beijing in 2025 and aligns with China’s Global Development Initiative launched by President Xi Jinping.

“The implementation of this project fully embodies the vision of China’s Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2021,” she said.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya