First Lady Rachel Ruto has called for a fundamental shift in Kenya’s healthcare approach, urging medical professionals to place greater emphasis on disease prevention rather than treatment. 

Speaking on Tuesday, 14, during the Merck Foundation award ceremony in Nairobi, Rachel, who is also the organisation’s “More than a Mother” campaign ambassador, stressed that lasting change in health outcomes will be achieved when practitioners go beyond prescribing medicine to understanding patients’ living conditions, diets, and socio-economic realities.

“We are good at treating disease, but now we must become equally good at preventing it,” she said, adding that the shift would be critical in tackling illnesses linked to malnutrition and lifestyle factors.

“Malnutrition alone causes scenarios of lost productivity every year,” she noted.

The event saw three Standard Group journalists: Agutu Rosa (print), Eunice Omollo (multimedia), and Irissheel Shanzu (digital) feted. 

The awards pooled stories from East African region countries under different categories, including Multimedia, online, print, and Television. 

The categories centred on contribution to raise awareness about one or more of the following social issues, such as: Breaking infertility stigma, Supporting Girl Education, Women empowerment, Ending FGM, AND /or Stopping GBV at all levels.

The organisation also provides scholarships to Kenyan medical and journalism professionals seeking to advance their studies in their careers. 

So far, Merck Foundation says, it has provided 328 scholarships for postgraduate diplomas across various fields since 2012. 

The organisation’s board chairman, Frank Stangenberg, said this has helped “break the fertility stigma and support girls’ education in Kenya nationwide.”

“Mark Foundation has provided 328 scholarships for local Kenyan healthcare providers nationwide in 44 underserved and critical medical facilities, such as oncology, diabetes, nutrition, endocrinology, preventive cardiovascular care, embryology, fertility, and sexual and reproductive care.” 

Other areas the foundations have touched include “acute medicine, dermatology, paediatrics and child care, pain management, obesity and weight management, respiratory care, rheumatology, internal medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, and infectious diseases.

Rachel Ruto challenged healthcare workers to embrace their role as educators and advocates within communities, calling on them to mentor others and champion better nutrition practices.