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{
    "id": 1012982,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1012982/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 263,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cherargei",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13217,
        "legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
        "slug": "cherarkey-k-samson"
    },
    "content": "community health workers will have the role of isolating cases of gender based violence and coming up with data. I read the drafted Kenya Community Health Policy of 2020/2030 and one of the key things in that policy is to create the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). One of the key issues in the policy is the universal health care. One of the Big Four Agenda of the Jubilee Government was the Universal Health Coverage (UHC). If the Universal Health care plan had left the shelves of Statehouse, I can assure you that the issue of community health workers could have been taken care of because it is part of the wider UHC. The Kenya Community Health Policy creates a 10-year space and niche for the community health workers. The policy might not have a legal enforcement or impetus but the fact that Sen. (Dr.) Zani’s Bill has tried to give that legislative intervention, I hope that will be very important. The community health workers do a lot of work in the community which include tracing immunization. I hope the doctors in the House can confirm that because of the immunizations we receive as children this country and in many other African countries was a deterrent to the spread of the COVID-19. The community health workers in the rural areas have the role of tracing children in the community to confirm that they had been immunized. Further, the community health workers assist in communication of behavioral change because they understand the local languages. They also provide a link between the doctors and the local communities. My colleague spoke about early teenage pregnancies. I personally believe that the community health workers are the people that can intervene at the village level and in informal settlement areas to ensure that the number of teenage pregnancies is brought down. Sen. Wetangula has brought out the importance of community health workers in the cleanliness of the environment. It therefore goes without saying that we need proper coordinated public participation on this Bill. Madam Deputy Speaker, the one amendment that I would like to propose is the financing of the community health services. The policy that has been drafted by the Ministry of Health states that the National and county Governments will commit and that the Ministry of Health will talk to partners. I would like Sen. (Dr.) Zani to make it an obligation to fund the community health services. Health services under Article 43 of the Constitution is an obligation. Health is a right and not a privilege. If the Ministry of Health states in the policy that it will commit, it means that it can happen or not. Duties of the community health workers can be discussed but my problem is with the payment of the stipends. We should not pay our community health workers like they are in a church service where we are donating sadaka . We should ensure that the community health workers receive proper remuneration because they do more work than nurses and doctors. Their payment should not be based on stipends or any commitments that we are doing. The other day, Nandi County fired about 384 casuals; majority of whom were community health workers. If the community health workers were protected through competent hiring process and the county had an obligation, they could not have been The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}