Activities of Secretary-General in Kenya, 29 October-1 November

United Nations Secretary‑General Ban Ki‑moon arrived in Dadaab, Kenya on Wednesday, 29 October.  This was the fourth and last leg of a joint visit to the Horn of Africa region, with the President of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, as well as representatives of the African Union, the European Union, the African Development Bank, and the Islamic Development Bank.

In Dadaab, the Secretary-General visited Ifo 2 refugee camp and toured its hospital, including the maternity ward and nutrition stabilization centre.  He then held a meeting with representatives of the refugee and host communities and spoke with them about the challenges they face and the work of the United Nations in Dadaab.

In the early evening, the Secretary‑General travelled from Dadaab to Nairobi, where he met with the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta.  The Secretary‑General highlighted the peace, security, and development issues discussed throughout his tour of the Horn of Africa and urged Kenya’s continued engagement and leadership on those issues.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the Secretary-General said that he had visited the Horn of Africa with the World Bank, African Union, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and European Union, with a common message:  there can be no lasting peace and security without development and there can no development without peace and security.  He said that was why these international and regional organizations were all travelling together.  

Later that evening, the Secretary‑General attended a state dinner hosted in his honour by the President of Kenya.

The following day, Thursday, 30 October, the Secretary‑General addressed the first Ministerial and Experts Conference on Sustainable Transport in Africa, held in Nairobi.  He ‎said that as the economies of Africa continue to grow, there was an opportunity to avoid the environmental, social and economic impacts of unsustainable transport.  He called on the Ministers present to come up with a strong, forward-looking and concrete sustainable transport roadmap for Africa.  (See Press Release SG/SM/16296.)

The Secretary-General then attended the launch of the Global Media Campaign to End Female Genital Mutilation‎ (FGM) with The Guardian and the Executive Director of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Babatunde Osotimehin.  He said that the media had a critical role in adding their voice to help end FGM in a generation and called on the Kenyan media to support public pressure in that sense.  He paid tribute to the women and girls who fought against FGM and said they now need to be the norm rather than the exception.  (See Press Release SG/SM/16297.)

After meeting with the Executive Director of UN-Habitat [United Nations Human Settlements Programme], Joan Clos, the Secretary‑General had lunch with the heads of United Nations agencies present in Nairobi followed by a town hall meeting with United Nations staff.

On Friday, 31 October 2014, the Secretary‑General held a series of meetings with the Secretary General of the Kenya Red Cross, Dr. Abbas Gullet; the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Kenya, Nardos Bekele-Thomas; the Director-General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi, Sahle-Work Zewde; and Achim Steiner, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Later, the Secretary-General visited the offices of i-Hub/Ushahidi, an “incubator” for young Kenyan technology innovators.  He commended their creativity and said that their innovative ideas ‎are helping to spur growth in the country.  (See Press Release SG/SM/16300.)

The Secretary-General departed Nairobi in the early hours of Saturday, 1 November, for Copenhagen, Denmark.