Machakos Governor, Wavinya Ndeti has said her government will support initiatives that promote the consumption of healthy foods as one way of taming the runaway cost of healthcare in Machakos.
Speaking in Nairobi after signing a partnership agreement with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) to promote the growing and consumption of safe and healthy foods in the county, Wavinya revealed she had built over eighty (80) mini dams to enhance irrigation-based food production for rural populations.
“As a county government, we have come on board to offer our contribution to improve the nutrition of our people.
"In Machakos county, I have done over 80 mini dams and we are empowering our youth with vegetable seedlings to grow and sell to the local community,” said Wavinya.
The Governor said the County Government was also stoking up the dams with fish fingerlings to provide safe and healthy protein in the diets of the people.
“In doing so we hope to bring down the healthcare cost arising from the consumption of improper diets,” said the Governor.
At the same time, Gain executive director, Lawrence Haddad lauded the county government’s strategy of improving the nutrition of the local residents attributing it to Governor Wavinya’s great leadership.
“Improving nutrition is really a hard job which requires the aligning of various players and leaders who are ready to introduce compelling decisions to make better nutrition more available to the people,” Dr Haddad said.
His sentiments were echoed by Gain’s Kenya country director, Ruth Okowa who said the partnership agreement will promote a mutual approach by both the county government and Gain in promoting consumption of healthy foods.
