REMARKS BY DR EDWARD SAMBILI CBS, PERMANENT SECRETARY MINISTRY OF STATE FOR PLANNING, NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND VISION 2030 DURING THE RE-LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL FAMILY PLANNING CAMPAIGN AT KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTER (KICC), NAIROBI ON 14 TH FEBRUARY 2012

H.E MR. GHULAM NABI AZAD, HON UNION MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE-REPUBLIC OF INDIA

H.E PROF. RUHAL HAQUE, HON. MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE-PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH

HER EXCELLENCY CHUI LEI, VICE MINISTER, NATIONAL POPULATION AND FAMILY PLANNING COMMISSION OF CHINA -PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA

OTHER DISTINGUISHED GUESTS FROM SOUTH AFRICA AND TUNISIA

DISTINGUISHED GUESTS

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:

I wish to start by welcoming and recognizing the presence of His Excellencies and Honourable Ministers from China, India and Bangladesh together with other Board Members of Executive Committee of Partners in Population and Development (PPD) who have joined us today for this important event in our country. I wish also to recognize the presence of our Honorable Ministers of the Republic of Kenya who have graced this occasion together with other senior government officials, development partners and our key implementing partners present here today.

Let me also from the onset recognize the support and the harmonious working relationship the Government of Kenya and in particular the Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 has continued to receive towards implementation of population and other development programmes in the country. Special case worth mentioning is the support of three of development partners who complemented government efforts to undertaking today's re-launch activity- USAID, DSW and UNFPA.

As a Ministry, we have been involved directly and also through NCPD in high level advocacy activities through use of Parliamentary and Media Networks to advocate for political and financial support for population and family planning issues including family planning commodity security. The fruits of these efforts have been realized by enhanced financial support the programmes are currently receiving from government and development partners. In this regard, it is worth singling out the support we are receiving for the Output Based Approach to Reproductive Health, popularly known as OBA-RH, from the Federal Republic of Germany. This project was piloted by us through NCPD and later officially handed over in May 2011 to Ministry of Public health and Sanitation for scaling up as one of the flagship projects for Kenya Vision 2030. It targets provision of quality RH services including family planning to very poor members of our society in selected accredited health facilities.

To address the emerging and continuing population challenges in Kenya, NCPD in collaboration with stakeholders has undertaken a comprehensive review of the 2000 National Population Policy for Sustainable Development and also formulated a draft Population Policy for National Development which will soon be tabled in parliament for debate and adoption. A detailed implementation plan to guide its implementation has also been developed. The Ministry through NCPD will continue to collaborate with all relevant ministries including: Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation; Ministry of Medical Services; Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development; Ministry of Education; and, Ministry of Youth and Sports to implement programmes aimed at family planning demand creation at the grassroots level and linking up those who are ready for family planning information and services to appropriate service delivery points.

In this regard, NCPD has developed a new Strategic Plan covering the period 2011 to 2015 that will guide the implementation of national and regional population programmes. In addition, NCPD has re-banded itself and reverted to the old name due to high public demand. Some of these materials including the logo and corporate colours aimed at enhancing its visibility will be launched today.

We strongly believe as a Ministry that with proper population management, Kenya Vision 2030 aspirations can be realized even sooner. We therefore call upon all Kenyans to embrace family planning.

Thank you