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{
    "id": 1021646,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1021646/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 222,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nominated, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Prof.) Jacqueline Oduol",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 856,
        "legal_name": "Dennitah Ghati",
        "slug": "dennitah-ghati"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I will, from the outset, support this Bill and thank Dr. Mishra. Indeed, as we look at the new section or the amendment, we see that it is very relevant. It is because a policy guideline which is really what is informing this is a function of the national Government. We can see clearly that when we are talking about referrals, particularly when we want to look at them on health grounds, we would want to think of clients. That they would receive appropriate care and at a cost that is affordable and not unnecessarily costly. That there would be appropriate facilities that can also be used to address the concern and, most importantly, they will be timely addressed. As I support the Bill, I would also want to draw the attention of Members. As legislators, our concern should not only stop at the point of coming up with regulations because, as we have noted, Kenya truly has very key challenges in the area of health. One of them is cost. As we address this and as I support this Bill, I would like to ask Members of the National Assembly to also take into account that we need to address ways in which we can ensure that we will reduce the cost. There will be too many Kenyan citizens who would want to access the services and they might not be able to get them in a way that they can afford. When we look at examples of countries where Kenyans go, taking India for example, they have come up with very clear strategies through which Indian citizens pay less. The Kenyans or foreigners who go to their country pay a little more. So, as we look at the way we would want to address the concerns of our citizens, I think we truly, from this amendment, have caught the right basis of referrals. I would like to emphasize that we would want to ensure that we not only address facilities where they are not adequate, that we not only also look at how it is that we come to address the state of health facilities in the counties where we have many of our citizens, but most importantly, that we are aware that we do not want to begin to look at what would be affecting just a certain section of the population. It is because those that might be going for referrals outside the country would, by the very nature of the expenses incurred, be those that have a much higher capacity. So, I support this Bill. I, however, would want that, as Members whose responsibility would not only be legislation but also of oversight, that we look at what is happening in the health sector and that we The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}