Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1020235,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1020235/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 307,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mwea, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Josephat Kabinga",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13441,
        "legal_name": "Josphat Kabinga Wachira",
        "slug": "josphat-kabinga-wachira-2"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. At the outset, I congratulate my sister Hon. Gladys Wanga for bringing up this amendment to the Cancer Prevention and Control Act of 2012 to strengthen training given to the personnel that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and management of cancer (Oncology). Investing in training and ensuring there is adequate personnel of cancer treatment in our counties will not only ensure that patients are treated but also built the capacity of the personnel out there. As it is, a number of the medical personnel in our counties are not well versed with the indicators and signs of Cancer. As a result, they misdiagnose and make patients end up in advanced cancer stages. If they had capacity, these patients would be diagnosed at early stages and put to the right medication as opposed to the case that we have currently. Investing in cancer treatment is not only a health issue but also an economic and social issue. On the health side, we have had personnel whom we have invested heavily in this country ending up being incapacitated or succumb to cancer and so we lose revenue in terms of investing in those humans. These are professors, engineers, doctors and some are rice farmers in my own constituency. Socially, we know that this is one country where too many people are traumatized due to cancer. We have too many families that have been affected. Economically, anybody who goes to India knows that Indian flights are characterised by many Kenyans who go there for treatment. A lot of foreign exchange is lost. It is high time as a country we sit and do Maths. Look at the amount of money that we are losing, see how much money we need to invest and ensure that such money is no longer lost. Once we do that, we will come up with a policy and encourage our county governments to invest more in the cancer infrastructure. I would even propose that we go ahead and come up with a special grant that would be competed for by counties that are putting a lot of investment in that area. Telemedicine and e- health is the way to go. Most Kenyans today have internet connection, whenever they have certain signs they check with the internet. If we can build that capacity both with the medical personnel and also create awareness, we can save this country a lot of revenue that otherwise goes out of ignorance and a lack of knowledge by both our medical personnel and patients who seek cancer treatment. This is because most of the times they have no idea. They live with it thinking it is normal to have lumps and they end up dying. Thank you. I support."
}