Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata says he will start paying pregnant women a stipend of Sh6,000 as a way to boost the county’s population.
In a county where many young people have shunned marriage, Dr Kang’ata now says pregnancies will be rewarded.
“We will be supporting pregnant mothers with a stipend of Sh2,000 for the last two months of the pregnancy and the same amount after delivery, to [total] Sh6,000 per pregnancy,” the county boss said in an interview yesterday.
A similar programme existed between 2002-2013, when the then Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau rewarded each pregnancy with Sh2,000.
He said this was meant to encourage young people to start families and boost the community’s numbers.
Dr Kang’ata said his programme is aimed at “taking good care of our women and encouraging them that their county government thinks well of them”.
The governor, elected under the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), said the programme will be piloted in the health sector strategic plan covering the period up to 2027.
He said the stipends will be paid to mothers who come to maternity wards at public hospitals.
“This is a programme that seeks to support optimal health and survival of pregnant mothers and their babies,” he said.
The proposal comes as the county reviews its 2020-2025 strategic plan that prioritised boosting the uptake of family planning, which was in place in Governor Mwangi Wa Iria’s administration.
