The First Lady of the Republic of Kenya H.E Mar- garet Kenyatta on the 8th of March led thousands of Kenyans in kicking off the 2020 edition of the Beyond Zero Half Marathon at the Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi Kenya. This was the Fifth Edition of the event that has become popular in the country. The First Lady reaffirmed her commitment to expand the political good will and resource mobilization initiatives aimed at improving provision of quality healthcare to women and children in Kenya.

The aim of the 2020 marathon was to bring pre- and post-natal healthcare to less privileged wom- en and girls in Kenya and accelerate the end of FGM by 2022. UNFPA Kenya made a contribution of 3 million Kenya shillings and mobilised 20 staff members led by the Country Representative, Dr. Ademola Olajide, to run for an end to Female Genital Mutilation.

This fifth edition of the Marathon was the first since Kenya hosted the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 that secured global commitments to realize the three zeros. Zero maternal deaths, zero gender based violence and harmful practices, and zero unmet need for family planning.The event was graced by His Excellence President Uhuru Kenyatta who also ran part of the marathon. There were over 20, 000 Kenyans from all cadres of society including

children and people living with disabilities who resonated passionately with the call to pursue im- proved health as the mainstay of national devel- opment.

The presence of the President, senior government officials and private sector actors, amplified the centrality of maternal health and ending FGM in Kenya.

“Our advocacy work has brought into the limelight the plight of women as they renew the life of the nation in maternity wards, and ignited the growing urgency to end FGM and eradicate obstetric fistula. We are proud of our collective voice as a nation that recognizes the unique role of women and girls in fulfilling our common vision,” the First Lady said.

“Today, as we commemorate this year’s Interna- tional Women’s Day, we also want to raise aware- ness about issues that impede women’s and girls’ opportunities to advance and thrive as equal citi- zens of the world. Today we run for several caus- es: we run for zero maternal deaths, we run to end female genital mutilation and obstetric fistula, and we run to end child marriages,” the First Lady reit- erated. Beyond Zero is Kenya’s phenomenal event on the resolve to galvanize immense national sup- port towards the advancement of women’s sexu- al and reproductive health rights, and ending the culture of violence against women and girls in all forms.