SPEECH BY H.E. MARGARET KENYATTA, THE FIRST LADY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA, DURING THE HANDING OVER OF THE 31ST BEYOND ZERO MOBILE CLINIC TO BOMET COUNTY ON 6TH AUGUST 2015

Distinguished Guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to be inBometCountytodayfor the handing over of the 31stBeyond Zero mobile clinic.Thank you allfor the warm reception you have accorded us.

Bomethas a very healthy agricultural outlook with a great deal of the maize, teaand dairy products consumed in our country coming from this area. That is why it is also known as the "Green County".

I urge the county government to look into ways of processing thecounty'sagricultural produce locally so that the benefits of value addition trickle directly into farmers pockets.

Your county is truly blessed and endowed with vastresources, another one which is a youthfuland energetic population that is full ofgreat ideas.Totheyouths,you are notjustour future but our present. Kenya is lookinguptoyou to take us tothe next level. Take advantage ofthe available fundsthrough variousGovernmentprogrammesliketheUwezoand the Youth Enterprise DevelopmentFundsto start new enterprises.I have learnt that the County Government ofBomethas done acommendable job in the health sector with a good distribution of health facilities and medicalpersonnel. Through the Beyond Zero clinic, wecometo complement what is already in place, with an aim of availing crucial health facilities in hard to reach places.

Following on from the recently concluded 9th Stop Cervical, Breast and Prostate Cancer Conference held in Nairobi, I urge you to go for early screening and testing in order to detect and treat any early warning signs of this dreaded disease.Let me take this opportunity to congratulate theBometCounty First Lady, Eng. EstherRuto, for spearheading the formation of the recently launched County First Ladys association to guide development in the counties.She hasalsodone a splendid job of mentoring school girls and distributing free sanitary towels to them. The sanitary pad initiative ensures that girls do not lose valuable school days every month.This week, isWorld Breastfeeding Week (WBW)which calls for concerted global action to support women to combine breastfeeding and work.As a mother, I wholly support this years theme: Breastfeeding and Work- lets make it work.Let us commit toenable mothers to bring up a healthy next generation through exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months.As I conclude, I wish to assure you that we, as a country, are committed to getting toZero preventable maternal and child deaths. We will also eliminateinstances of mother to child transmission of the HIV virus during childbirth.It is only through co-operation and mutual understanding that we can see our dreamsachieved.Kindly now join me in handing over the 31stmobile clinic proudly sponsored by theWemyssCharitable Trustto your Governor, IsaacRuto, on behalf of the people ofBometCounty.

Thank you.