Kenya adopts new initiative to curb maternal and newborn deaths

Health CS Aden Duale (centre) before the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Health at Bunge Towers, Parliament, Nairobi on February 10,2026. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

There is a silver lining in Kenya's fight against maternal and neonatal deaths, after the country became the first globally to adopt a five-year health initiative aimed at eliminating deaths among mothers and newborns.

The Sh11 billion (US$85 million) Healthy Birth Initiative will benefit 12 counties that account for more than 50 per cent of Kenya's annual neonatal deaths.