Being Uhuru's Aide is Like Having 15 Husbands - Wangari Nganga Opens Up

President Uhuru Kenyatta addressing the nation regarding new measures by the government
President Uhuru Kenyatta addressing the nation regarding new measures by the government to combat the Covid-19 virus, on March 25 at Statehouse, Nairobi.
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Wangari Nganga is the lead Interlocutor for President Uhuru Kenyatta's Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and a technical adviser at the Presidential Policy and Strategy Unit in the Executive.

Speaking to Business Daily on Thursday, April 2, the 33-year-old opened up about her role in the president's office, which she alluded to as that of having 15 husbands.

The choice of metaphor was informed by her role which she stated involves translating the presidency’s dream in health to practicalities that can be implemented nationwide through the various stakeholders, and echoes the realities back to the president, in effect serving many masters at the same time.

Another reason, she stated, was that it was not enough for a person to have the right papers but also needed to have great social skills to deal with the different cadres of people and also the levels of trusts that were needed to make her duties tenable.

Wangari Ng'ang'a addresses questions from the audience on the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) during the Equity Week in 2018.
Wangari Ng'ang'a addresses questions from the audience on the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) during the Equity Week in 2018.
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"I’m just a broom brushing through (chuckles). But I’m present when things happen in rooms. It’s no small task because you know what the right thing to do is and because [of that] the burden is even heavier.

"It’s not enough to be qualified, have the right papers, be good at your job, you also have to have great social skills to deal with people, to walk the process. And that takes time," she informed.

Wangari also admitted that she was not even aware of how she got the job and does not know who recommended her, but landing the job to her was akin to a miracle since she was not even the first choice as she came to learn later.

"What I know is that I wasn’t even the first choice, I was third best. Number one, a good friend of mine, a health economist, super smart, couldn’t take the job because they were in the middle of their PhD then.

"Number two, my friend Mercy, who at that time had just been appointed to a job and so the minister said, ‘no, you are not leaving.’ Then someone said, ‘try Wangari’.

"Wangari had just resigned from her job in Murang’a and was about to take a job in Eswatini. Then my boss called and said, ‘come we talk before you start packing.’ And that was it," she recalled.

She admitted that there was power in working with the government in the sense that in the position she occupies, she feels like she can push for change to happen and do the right thing for the sake of the future generations.

Wangari holds a Master’s degree in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a medical undergraduate degree from the University of Nairobi.

Lead interlocutor on Universal Health Coverage in the office of the President, Wangari Ng'anga
Lead interlocutor on Universal Health Coverage in the office of the President, Wangari Ng'anga
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