REMARKS BY H.E.

MARGARET KENYATTA FIRST LADY OF

THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE MEETING WITH THE
CHAIRMAN OF NOVARTIS ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH,
2015 ON THE SIDELINES OF UNGA IN NEW YORK
Dr. Joerg
Trustees,

Reinhardt,

Chairman

of

Novartis

Board

of

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for inviting me to this important meeting and for giving
me an opportunity to speak on a subject close to my heart- the
fight against cancer.
Why cancer? Because recent data released by the Kenya Cancer
Association reveals that at least 80 Kenyans- mostly from lowincome groups- die of various cancers every day.
The Association said these figures might be much higher- and I
agree- as they only reflect cases reported to and recorded in
hospitals, not those of victims suffering silently at home with
neither medical nor palliative care.
As the current Chairperson of the Forum of African First Ladies/
Spouses against Cervical, Breast and Prostate Cancer, I am
excited by the proactive steps being taken by our Government
and Novartis in the fight against this killer disease.
Your work complements our advocacy efforts to commit leaders in
Africa and the world to support the campaign to expand access to
prevention, treatment and palliative services for people with
cancer.
We are not only focusing on government leaders, but also on
private sector executives like you. We want to build stronger
public-private partnerships among African and global institutions
to improve access and quality of cancer care.

This was one of the key commitments and affirmations we made

during the 9th Cervical, Breast and Prostate Cancer (SCCA)
conference that I hosted in Nairobi in July this year.
Only in unity of purpose can we garner the collective strength of
mind that we need to wage a formidable fight against this
runaway scourge.
I look forward to welcoming you in Nairobi Mr. Chairman on the
15th of October where together with the Ministry of Health, you
will formally launch the Novartis Access Initiative.
We are proud to join the over 180 countries benefiting from
Novartis drugs and more specifically to enable our mothers
access the life-changing Femara drug that treats cancer in postmenopausal mothers.
It is my hope that the company will continue to undertake more
research and medical trials so that it can produce more effective
drugs for other types of cancers including prostate cancer which
afflict men.
I am sure the launch will be the beginning of robust healthcare
partnerships between Kenya and Novartis.
Thank you.