SPEECH BY H.

E MARGARET KENYATTA DURING THE

OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS
& DENTIST BOARD OFFICE COMPLEX.
16TH MAY 2016
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my pleasure to join you this morning, to

launch this new office complex that will
house the Medical Practitioners and Dentists
Board.

Eighteen months ago, I laid a foundation

stone to commence the construction of this
building, and I committed to come back and
open it, if it was completed within the
recommended time-frame. Today, I am happy
to be here making good on that promise, and
I congratulate the management team and
contractors for timely completion.

This new complex is well deserved by the

Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board. It is
also

timely

in

improving

the

working

environment of medical staff and accessibility

by the public. Your work in regulating the
health care industry, and setting national
standards for the practice of medicine, is
perhaps

less

publicly

appreciated

and

acclaimed than it ought to be. I am aware of

the

huge

responsibility

of

the

Boards

mandate to carry out its core functions of:

educating and training, licensing, monitoring
and evaluating. In addition, it holds an
advisory and disciplinary role by ensuring
that there is healthcare harmonisation with
key collaborating partners across the globe.

I can only imagine how difficult, demanding

and daunting that work must be. And it is
therefore critical that quality control in the

area of training, and maintenance of high

quality standards be the core values and
ethics that drive the medical and dental
schools, and teaching hospitals in Kenya.
Kenyans

must

feel

confident

in

the

healthcare service offered to them. One that

prioritises
reflects

their

and

safety

respects

and
their

dignity,

and

constitutional

rights.

Improving

the

health

and

well-being

of

women and children, is an issue close to my

heart, and close to my personal experience.
Through the Beyond Zero Campaign, I have
witnessed the pain families experience due
to the senseless deaths of women and
children. Recently we were presented with
daunting facts, figures, and key findings of
the Kenya Countdown 2015 Case Study.

I am informed that the majority of cases of

medical negligence lodged, and determined
by the Medical Practitioners and Dentist
Board in the last five years, are related to
maternal health and so I urge that even as
Kenya celebrates the decrease of maternal
and child deaths over the past two years,
that more deliberate action is directed to
address red flag maternal health issues such
as low birth weight babies and still births.

Today, as we celebrate the inauguration of

this new complex, it is my hope that this
space will inspire a renewed urgency, resolve
and determination for your staff to arbitrate
medical

matters

with

utmost

efficiency,

fairness and adherence to the law. That the

staff

will

be

inspired,

energised

and

motivated to deliver exemplary services to

the public, and to ensure that healthcare in
Kenya

complies

with

the

ever

evolving

demands and expectations of a new century,

and a changing country.

At the same time, we must congratulate the

Board for its dedication and call to service.
On behalf of countless Kenyans, I want to
thank

the

board,

for

the

pivotal

and

indispensable work that you do, and for

carrying

out

that

work

with

diligence,

discretion, an increasing degree of excellence

and a deepening allegiance to justice.

I look forward to the work that the Board will

do in the days to come, and I look forward to
continuing to partner with you and other
healthcare stakeholders, to forge a future
where

every

citizen,

especially

the

marginalized and vulnerable communities,

can experience the highest possible levels of
health, and access the highest possible
quality of healthcare, right here in Kenya.

With those few remarks it is now my pleasure

to declare the Medical Practitioners and
Dentists

Board

opened.

Thank you.

Office

Complex

officially