First Lady Margaret Kenyatta on Tuesday, March 23 called for a renewed commitment to the elimination of mother-to-child transmission (eMTCT) of HIV and Syphilis in the country.

She called for concerted efforts to accelerate the progress made towards achieving eMTCT through the promotion of stronger partnerships.

“I am convinced, that our successes rely on harmonised efforts from both the public and private sectors.

“I believe that our targets are achievable because of the solid partnerships we have built with you,” she said.

The First Lady spoke when she virtually addressed a partnership meeting on accelerating the progress towards achieving validation for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis by 2021.

Records show that Kenya has made great progress towards the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and curbing maternal mortality with new HIV infections reducing by 47 per cent from 12,826 in 2013 to 6,806 in 2020.

This success is partly due to the Kenya Framework for the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Syphilis 2016-2021 launched by the First Lady in 2017 during a Beyond Zero Summit.

She commended the innovative implementation of the Kenya eMTCT Framework adopted by counties through the county business plan model.

“So far, we have successfully launched 11 county business plans. It is my hope that we, as partners, will commit to resourcing and supporting the remaining county governments on their respective journeys,” she said.

The county business plans provide for the sustainable and timely implementation of activities for counties to meet their unique eMTCT circumstances.