Kenya has signed a five-year agreement with the Beginnings Fund, a global philanthropic initiative, unlocking $80 million (Sh10.4 billion) in catalytic financing to strengthen maternal and newborn health services in 21 counties.
The funding will support approximately 200 high-volume health facilities and is expected to benefit 5.9 million women and newborns. The Beginnings Fund says the programme could avert 46,494 maternal and newborn deaths by 2031.
The funding will be used to strengthen the workforce, expand access to essential medicines and technology, improve referral networks and upgrade the health information system.
“Frameworks or agreements do not save lives. Implementation does. I urge the Beginnings Fund, partners and responsible institutions to move with urgency from signing to execution,” Health CS Aden Duale said.
“Every delayed procurement, every postponed activity and every missed milestone represent mothers and newborns whose lives remain at unnecessary risk.”
Beginnings Fund CEO, Alice Kang’ethe, said lasting progress is achieved when governments lead and partners work alongside them.
“Kenya has demonstrated that commitment by placing mothers and newborns at the centre of its health agenda and bringing together the government, counties, health workers, implementing partners and philanthropy around a shared vision,” she said.
The funding comes as Kenya faces a high burden of maternal and newborn deaths. The country records around 355 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, while neonatal mortality stands at 21 per 1,000 live births and stillbirths at 19 per 1,000.
Most of these deaths are preventable through timely access to quality care during pregnancy, childbirth and the first weeks of life.
The investment is expected to complement funding from national and devolved governments and to align with existing programmes, including the Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere (EWENE) Acceleration Plan, the Maternal and Newborn Health Rapid Results Initiative, Universal Health Coverage reforms, and Taifa Care.
Kenya joins Malawi, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, Lesotho and Nigeria among the first countries to formally launch a partnership under the Beginnings Fund.
The Fund is supported by a group of founding donors, including the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, the Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Delta Philanthropies and the ELMA Foundation.
As of July, the Beginnings Fund had raised $495.4 million (Sh64.1 billion) towards its $525 million (Sh67.9 billion) target for the first funding phase, which runs from 2026 to 2031 in10 African countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
The Fund aims to prevent more than 300,000 maternal and newborn deaths across these countries and improve access to quality care for 34 million women and newborns.