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{
    "id": 1050130,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1050130/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 22,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "Some of the difficult and harsh conditions that Kenyans have to put up with currently due to the ravaging effects of COVID-19 include difficult economic times. This has resulted in a situation where mental health has become among the leading health conditions that affect people. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the unfortunate thing is that many people do not appreciate what mental health is and the kind of challenges that exist. That is why we must appreciate the good work that is being done by our colleagues, led by Sen. Sylvia Kasanga, who has distinguished herself as a champion for this course in this House. We are duty-bound as her colleagues and fellow leaders in this country to join her in this campaign. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I do not know how many of our leaders know that this country has very little capacity for mental health facilities. Save for the few public health facilities that take care of our mental health patients, many other institutions, of course, I have imagined our counties, but they are not properly staffed where you would benchmark with the global standards in terms of being a proper medical facility. Mental health, as we have been reminded very often, is a health challenge just like any other. Therefore, the Government, and we that are in leadership positions, need to appreciate and challenge ourselves to ensure that as a country, there is a strategic intervention in this sector. We should ensure that each time we do budgets, each time our county assemblies get the chance to budget for health, that at least we should start at the very bare minimum to ensure that each county has a facility dedicated, perhaps in their Level 4 or those that have Level 5 hospitals, that treat mental health patients. They should be well maintained, properly groomed and not to the status of what we know. I do not know how many of our colleagues have visited Mathari Mental Hospital a couple of times because I have a friend who has battled mental illness for a number of years. If you see the conditions that the patients in that particular facility live under, it will break your heart. However, the unfortunate thing is because of subsequent under- investment in that facility, doctors there have to make do with very little capitation. The challenging and unfortunate thing is that even the Ministry of Health does not seem to understand what this challenge is. They continue to treat that particular hospital as a dumping institution. Mr. Speaker, Sir, unfortunately, if you recall a few months ago, when the Cabinet Secretary and the leadership at the Ministry of Health fell out with certain officers at the Ministry of Health, they were transferred to Mathari Mental Hospital. It is considered as if it is a form of punishment. This is unfortunate. If the people in charge of health sector in our country are doing such things, then it tells you that we still have a long journey to go. People have not appreciated the challenges of the mental health sector in our Republic. Therefore, we must begin first with the sensitization followed very closely by directing resources; being purposeful about it to ensure that we begin at the county level and perhaps even consider at the national level a well-equipped facility and properly facilitated with staff and whatever machines they will need to carry out the treatment. Therefore, we can be able to rescue our patients. 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."
}