Ruto: I'll ensure new mothers get diapers by end of my first term

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President William Ruto has revisited a pledge he first made during the 2022 campaign, saying his administration will ensure new mothers can access diapers by the end of his first term.

Speaking on Tuesday evening at the Presidential Townhall held during the National Health Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, Ruto again raised the issue of support for mothers and newborns.

"I can tell this auditorium that by the time I complete my first term, I will have discharged all the responsibilities and commitments I made, and make sure that every mother who walks out of hospital will walk out with diapers once they give birth," he said on Tuesday during the townhall.

During the launch of the Kenya Kwanza Women’s Charter at Nyayo Stadium, he promised that mothers would receive a three-month supply of diapers after giving birth under an enhanced NHIF cover.

“Our proposal as Kenya Kwanza is to make a part of the charter to provide pre- and post-natal care to all mothers and children, and mothers will be supplied with diapers for the first three months after birth under the NHIF,” Ruto said at the time.

Ruto also outlined several interventions by his administration in education and healthcare.

He said the government had mobilised resources to build 23,000 additional classrooms to address shortages in learning spaces.

Ruto also addressed challenges surrounding university financing, saying the government was seeking to align student placement with funding so that students admitted to higher education institutions can complete their chosen courses.

He said the proposed Higher Education Placement and Funding Bill would address gaps in the previous system, where student placement and financing were handled separately.

“In the past, there was a different body placing students, and there was a different body looking for their funding, and the disconnect brought about very severe challenges,” Ruto said.

He said some students had been forced to change courses because their families could not afford their preferred programmes.

“The government must make sure that a student going to do medicine or engineering does not change to do another course because their parents cannot afford the course of engineering or the course in medicine,” he said.

Ruto also announced that the Ministry of Education would provide Sh5 million to each institution and school that participated in the event to support infrastructure for creative activities.

He further commended the Teachers Service Commission for promoting 1,000 teachers who had participated in arts and creative activities, following an earlier commitment to recognise their contribution.

On infrastructure, Ruto spoke about the planned smart city development in Bungoma, saying the project, initially designed at 14 floors, had been revised to 24 floors.

He said the development would include residential, commercial, medical and learning facilities.