Conversations in Development: Improving Health in Kenya’s Urban Slums

Poverty, poor health and overcrowding are some of the many challenges facing communities in Kenya’s urban slums, or informal settlements. Jane Otai knows these issues firsthand. Raised in a slum in Nairobi, Jane is now a senior program advisor for global health nonprofit Jhpiego, where she helps educate women and girls on reproductive health and …

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Inspiring women to put family first

The following essay is part of a series in which dozens of women will reveal what women they most admire. The series is part of “Women Rule,” a unique effort this fall by POLITICO, Google and The Tory Burch Foundation exploring how women are leading change in politics, policy and their communities. See more essays …

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Free Maternity Care in Kenya: What is it Worth?

Jane Otai, a 2013 New Voices Fellow at the Aspen Institute, says that it is good that the Kenyan government will now provide free maternity health care for all its citizens, however it is also imperative to ensure that free care equals quality care. The New York Times recently reported on the astonishingly high cost …

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