Women, girls have a right to richer lives

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I found myself in need of help.

I was visiting my mother in Nanyuki, the sleepy little town north-west of Mount Kenya where I had grown up, and in the middle of the night my waters broke.

The problem? I was only seven months pregnant, too early to be going into labour. I rushed to the local hospital, and received a sobering diagnosis from the doctor: the baby was seriously premature, and would need to be placed in an incubator in order to survive.
At that time, there were no incubators in Nanyuki, and so my only option was to drive to Nairobi, the capital city, and hope that I made it in time.

A friend offered to drive me, and off we went, with a car full of blankets and tea, driving as fast as we could through the dark night.

Thankfully, we made it to Nairobi, and my baby – tiny, fragile, and weak as she was – survived. She is now 25 years old.
This experience showed me just how exposed and vulnerable women are when they have to face complicated births without any professional assistance. And unfortunately, this is the reality for thousands of women.

Women who give birth under difficult circumstances without the safety of doctors, nurses, trained birth attendants and health facilities that I was fortunate enough to have.
The health inequalities in Kenya are enormous. Only 6 of our 47 counties account for close to 50 per cent of all deaths related to pregnancies.

Lack of trained and skilled medical staff, lack of well-equipped health facilities and poor infrastructure mean that woman die from what, under better conditions, would be preventable causes. We have to change that.

I have just recently joined UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, as their Honorary Ambassador in Kenya. I feel deeply honoured to have this opportunity to advocate for gender equality and women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.

It’s time for the full and equal participation of women in our social, political and economic worlds to be the norm, not the exception.

Improving maternal health is a goal itself for the many women and girls who will feel its impact. But it is also a means to an even greater end. Kenya is on the verge of reaping a demographic dividend: an economic boost made possible by having a large youth population that is educated and empowered.

But realising it requires action now. Civil society, government and the private sector, where I have spent many years, need healthy, educated and empowered young people to advance. And maternal health is at the centre of realising this.
Within the broader efforts of advancing maternal health, I will also use my role as Honorary Ambassador to focus on women’s empowerment and adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health.

These areas include harmful practices like female genital mutilation and child marriage, which deny girls their right to dignity and often push them out of education, with grave consequences for their future ability to fulfill their potential to lift their nations out of poverty.

As a business leader, another key area for me is the co-operation between the United Nations and the private sector. The acknowledgment of the private sector as a key development partner is getting more and more traction.

But I have often seen how private-sector companies, with plenty to offer, find themselves at the deep end when trying to navigate the UN system. My ambition is to draw on my own background as an entrepreneur and business leader to help bridge the gap.
The key is to break down the complexity and clearly outline how you can contribute, whether it is in your local community, in your workplace, as a business leader or a private citizen. For me it all begins with information and dialogue. We have to discuss how we empower women and teenage girls to make free, informed and responsible choices about their sexual and reproductive health.
We have to discuss how to empower them to survive childbirth, to stay in school, to participate fully and contribute to the economy. These discussions will make up the foundation on which we can help them and their children live healthier, richer lives. Ensuring it is also a foundation for creating more prosperous nations.

I find a strong motivation for my work as honorary ambassador in the fact that by advancing maternal health, we give women, children and young people a chance to actively help building a prosperous and peaceful Kenya.

It is a chance that I, and my daughter, so nearly lost 25 years ago.