Her Excellency First Lady Margaret Kenyatta’s Beyond Zero initiative has been recognized for supporting the training of enrolled community health nurses to boost the delivery of primary healthcare services among vulnerable and marginalized communities.

Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) Chairman Prof. Philip Kaloki and the college’s CEO Prof. Michael Kiptoo appreciated the Beyond Zero Scholarship Programme for facilitating the sponsorship of enrolled community health nurses through the World Bank.

Prof. Kaloki and Prof. Kiptoo spoke on Tuesday during the 89th KMTC graduation held virtually where 406 enrolled community health nurses who benefitted from the Beyond Zero Scholarship Programme graduated.

“Our partners included Beyond Zero headed by Her Excellency the First Lady Madam Margaret Kenyatta and the World Bank which has been very supportive to us. Actually, we have been able to realize from the World Bank itself Kshs 1.2 billion to support learning for our students and we are very appreciative of this,” Prof. Kaloki said.

On his part, Prof. Kiptoo said: “Among the graduands today are 406 enrolled community health nurses drawn from vulnerable marginalized arid and semi-arid communities who were fully sponsored by the World Bank through the Beyond Zero Programme to undertake the training, and this is spearheaded by Her Excellency First Lady Margaret Kenyatta.

The enrolled community health nurses are expected to improve the utilization and quality of primary healthcare with a focus on reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health services in line with the objectives of the Beyond Zero initiative.