President William Ruto has urged leaders to take the lead in promoting vaccination campaigns against cervical cancer.
The President said the move will protect women and girls from the disease that has become a major concern in the country.
He said the Government has enough resources to vaccinate all girls between the age of 9-and 15 years.
“I ask First Ladies of our counties and spouses of Members of Parliament and County Assemblies to advocate for the vaccination campaigns and ensure all girls are vaccinated,” he said.
The President made the remarks during the Marsabit Lake Turkana Cultural Festival in Loiyangalani, Marsabit County.
Present were Governors Mohamud Ali (Marsabit), Ken Lusaka (Bungoma), MPs Naomi Wako (Marsabit County), Wario Adhe (North Horr), Joseph Lekuton (Laisamis), David Kiaraho (Ol Kalou), Ali Abdi (Ijara), among others.
President Ruto said the Government will beef up security in Marsabit County and the entire northern region.
The President noted that more security officers including police reservists will be deployed to Marsabit County to help in the war against insecurity.
“We want to have peace so that we can focus on growing the economy and also ensure children go to school,” he said.
The President said the Government will operationalise administrative units in the region to ease service delivery.
He asked parents in northern Kenya to ensure their children go to school, saying more resources have been allocated to education sector.
At the same time, the Head of State, asked communities in the region to discard regressive cultural practices that hinder social and economic progress.
He said practices such as Female Genital Mutilation, early child marriages, cattle rustling, and conflicts are out-of-date and impede societal development.
The President directed members of the provincial administration to hold those involved in Female Genital Mutilation and early child marriages accountable.
“The greatest violence against women is Female Genital Mutilation and Early Childhood marriages. FGM is against the law and nobody shall be subjected to such violent treatment,” he said.
The President said the Government will construct dams to harvest water for future use.
He said a landing site in Lake Turkana will be built to harness its economic and food production potential.
“The Government of Netherlands has agreed to avail resources for Lake Turkana Blue Economy programme,” he said.
The Head of State argued that the Government will invest in revamping tourism facilities in Lake Turkana region to boost tourism.
Governor Ali Mahamud said the people of Marsabit County are committed to fostering harmonious coexistence and are eager to embrace development opportunities.
“The people of Marsabit have accepted to discard outdated cultural practices like war that derailed the county’s development,” he said.
He said the Marsabit Lake Turkana Cultural Festival serves as a demonstration of the county’s commitment to live peacefully.
Mr Lekuton asked the Government to hire more police reservists to complement efforts by the National Police Service.
Mr Wario lauded leaders from Marsabit County for uniting to tackle insecurity in the region.
“We will uphold peace among communities in Marsabit County and share the available resources,” he said.
Ms Wako urged the Government to root out the few individuals still engaging in cattle rustling and theft in the region.