A host of world leaders, among them the Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and Campbell Barr, Vice President of Costa Rica on Wednesday, November 13, heaped praises on First Lady of Kenya Margaret Kenyatta.
The first lady was among the world's women leaders who attended the ongoing International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) at the KICC.
The leaders lauded Margaret for her efforts in empowering women in the society and increasing the access to health care facilities by vulnerable communities. As a result, they expressed their desire to work with her in the drive for global women empowerment.
“You are doing an amazing job. We have been watching and admiring how you are making progress,” Crown Princess Mary of Denmark lauded.
Campbell Barr, the Costa Rica vice president revealed that she was at the front of fighting for gender equality, empowering women leaders and equipping them with necessary skills back in her homeland.
She expressed her intent to work with the first lady on the upscale of maternal health services to alleviate the challenges of teen pregnancies.
“In Costa Rica, there are a lot of training programmes where women are allowed to tell their own stories. Education has helped reduce early pregnancies. Where people are educated on the incidences of early pregnancies are lower,” Campbell revealed.
Later on, Margaret Kenyatta met with the leaders separately and informed them of the second Strategic Framework of Beyond Zero and the Medical Safaris Programme.
The first lady briefed the leaders on how the implementation of the framework had benefitted many Kenyans through the free medical services offered by both the public and private health institutions during medical camps.
“Many people are encouraged by what we do and they use the mobile clinics to speak about issues like FGM, HIV, and Aids among other health challenges facing them,” the first lady informed.
Also impressed with Margaret, was the wife to the Prime Minister of Belize, Kim Barrow who expressed her desire to collaborate with the First Lady through the Beyond Zero initiative.
Other leaders who lauded the First Lady included the former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark, and the CEO of Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Kate Hampton.
Clark commended the First Lady for using the Beyond Zero initiative to improve the lives of women and children in the country. She identified the launch of the national human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine campaign in the country stating that the programme was critical to the health of women and girls.
Hampton, assured that her organisation was ready to work with Beyond Zero in its drive to enlighten the youth on healthy living.
The first lady called for the acceleration of the global women empowerment agenda stating, “Empowerment is critical for women and young girls to make a meaningful contribution to our economies.”
She called upon world leaders to come together in the realisation of change and progress in matters affecting women and girls around the world.
