PHOENIX, Arizona, Mar 15 – First Lady Margaret Kenyatta arrived in Phoenix, Arizona Monday evening to commence a six-day tour of duty where she will also receive medical supplies worth millions of shillings for the Beyond Zero campaign.
Other activities lined up for the First Lady include meeting with key partners and supporters of the Beyond Zero Campaign and addressing a group of students from the Thunderbird Global School of Management and citizens of Arizona State.
The initial consignment of the medical supplies that the First Lady receives Tuesday worth Sh45 million ($450,000) is destined for Chemolingot Hospital in East Pokot, Baringo County.
The other consignments of the medical supplies expected in Kenya in coming weeks will be dispatched to several other needy hospitals in the counties under the Beyond Zero Initiative.
The medical supplies are donated by Project C.U.R.E – an International relief organization that identifies, collects, sorts and distributes medical supplies and services according to the imperative needs of each country across the world.
Project C.U.R.E which operates distribution centres in Colorado, Tennessee, Texas and Arizona collects excess medical supplies and specialized equipment from hundreds of US hospitals and medical manufacturers .
It is the world’s largest distributor of donated medical supplies to resource-limited communities across the globe, touching the lives of patients, families and children in more than 130 countries.
The medical supplies for each country are highly customized depending on specific needs of the recipient nation.
Project C.U.R.E Executive Director Katie Mabardy said the inventory for the Kenyan consignments has been approved by a technical team from the Ministry of Health who also undertook a needs assessment.
She said the relief organization has partnered with the First Lady on the realization of the huge impact the Beyond Zero campaign has on the under-served communities in Kenya.
Mabardy said the work of the First Lady was not only being felt in Kenya but her efforts, commitment and sacrifice are being appreciated across the world.
“Our impression is that Beyond Zero is very significant both in Kenya and globally”, said Ms Mabardy who was supervising the loading of the medical equipment at Project C.U.R.E warehouse, Tempe region, Arizona.
“The First Lady is well respected here. People are ready to give more support to ship more medical equipment to Kenya”, she added.
The equipment destined for Chemolingot includes incubators, catheters for various purposes, different types of syringes, blood drawing supplies, feminine supplies, general surgery packs and different types of medical transformers
The consignment also includes birthing and electrical beds, computers, oxygen tanks, paediatric and adult wheelchairs, surgical instruments and different types of laboratory supply kits.
The medical supplies are a major boost to the Beyond Zero campaign whose mission include the reduction of both maternal and infant deaths by ensuring that mothers, infants and children have access to quality health care and nutrition.
The campaign focuses on achieving its goals through multiple ways and running marathons by the First Lady is the key tool through which the Beyond Zero initiative raises funds and mobilizes other resources .
Proceeds from these efforts go towards the purchase and distribution of fully kitted mobile clinics and so far 36 counties across Kenya, some with the highest mortality rates for mothers and children, have received these critical life-saving facilities.
–
Photos Courtesy:PSCU
