First Lady Jill Biden Travels to Africa
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden meets with medical staff and citizens in Kenya (Official White House Photo by Erin Scott).
Dr. Biden made her way to the African continent for the first time since becoming First Lady, visiting Namibia and Kenya.
Article by Georgia Simon, Associate White House Reporter
NAIROBI, Kenya - Joined by her 29-year-old granddaughter, Naomi Biden-Neal, First Lady Jill Biden made a 5-day trip to the African countries of Namibia and Kenya, to “strengthen the United States’ partnerships on the African continent, and advance our shared priorities in the region,” The White House said.
Finishing off the statement announcing her trip, the administration said “Dr. Biden’s engagements will focus on the empowerment of women and youth, efforts to address food insecurity and promoting our shared democratic values.”
At 2:31 pm local time, Dr. Biden landed at Hosea Kutako International Airport in Windhoek, Namibia, starting off her trip, on February 22nd. After disembarking from the plane, she was greeted by the Republic of Namibia’s First Lady, Monica Geingos.
Immediately from the airport, Dr. Biden made a visit to a war memorial titled, the Heroes’ Acre. From there, they traveled to the State House where Namibia President, Hage Geibgob, greeted Dr. Biden.
The following day, Dr. Biden attended a State House gala luncheon as well as visited Hope Initiatives Southern Africa, also knowns as HISA. She also spoke at the Namibia University of Science and Technology, on February 24th.
During her speech, Dr. Biden said, “You—the young people of Namibia—are not only our future but our present.”
Later that morning, Dr. Biden departed for Kenya. Whilst there, the First Lady met with officials over food security and drought in the Horn of Africa while also reviewing how the Russian-Ukrainian war has affected the food shortage.
Upon arrival, Dr. Biden was greeted by the First Lady of the Republic of Kenya, Rachel Ruto; Cabinet Security, Rebecca Miano and the Republic of Kenya’s U.S. Ambassador, Meg Whitman.
Alongside Whitman, Dr. Biden spoke at a women's empowerment event later that night.
"This is my third visit to Kenya. And I, you know, I have incredible memories here. In fact, I told my granddaughter Naomi that coming here changed my life. And that's why she wanted to join me. So it's wonderful to be back and I, you know, I couldn't ask for a warmer welcome," Dr. Biden, said.
On February 25th, Dr. Biden visited Hello Tractor, a company designed to connect farmers to tractors, and can sometimes be referred to as “Uber of tractors.” Following this event, Dr, Biden attended an event at the government center in Kiberia where Dr. Biden was asked to speak.
“One of the things that I've done since I came to Kenya, I came to work on girls' education, women's empowerment, and you are doing exactly that. And I've always taught my own daughter and my granddaughters the importance of being financially independent,” Dr. Biden said.
Later that day, Dr. Biden also attend the Shujaaz Konnect Festival where she spoke with young citizens about condoms and safe sex. Upon leaving this event, Dr. Biden made the decision to lay a wreath at August 7th Memorial Park, which she had previously visited with her husband when he was Vice President.
On February 26th, the First lady visited Lositeti Village, a drought response site.
"Today we came to meet with people of this area. They talked about how their livestock are dying. Obviously, you can see the drought here, how bad it is. The water here feeds 12 villages and each village has approximately 1,000 to 1,200 people. So they are coming here, they are coming here to get water, they are bringing their livestock. But unfortunately for many of them their living comes from their livestock. And for most of them their live stock are dying. So they are having a hard time. Their children are malnourished. They cannot feed their children. They cannot afford to send their children to schools because there is a fee - not for the elementary school but for the older grades," Dr. Biden said.
Before leaving Kenya, Dr. Biden met with Kenyan President, William Ruto, inside the airport with Kenyan First Lady and Ambassador Whitman, who came to see Dr. Biden off.
Dr. Biden touched down back in the United States on February 27th, concluding her trip. President Biden is expected to make a visit to Africa explaining that he is “eager” to go.