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{
    "id": 1057188,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1057188/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 248,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Musuruve",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13188,
        "legal_name": "Getrude Musuruve Inimah",
        "slug": "getrude-musuruve-inimah"
    },
    "content": "They believed in me as a cancer survivor when I was a lecturer. They pursued and ensured that I had the money that would help me get my treatment in India. I was never laid off my job simply because my employer believed that I was going to be well and would still be productive. The reason I still have my limb is because JKUAT intervened. I remember when I was there they were able to fast-track and even ensure that I was paid any part-times I had taught for so many months. I thank the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ngumi, wherever she is. She would call me while in India to ask me, “Gertrude, how are you getting on?” My colleagues would ask me how I was getting on. That gave me hope that I would make it in the world of the living. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, people with cancer go through a lot of hopelessness. No one ever makes a follow up to find out how they are getting on. In fact, most of the time when people talk to them they ask: “When are you going back to India? When are you going back for treatment?” They give you a lot of hopelessness. Nobody gives you an opportunity to be in the land of the living and do what the living are doing. It is our onus, as the Senate, to see how to help cancer survivors and patients. Kenya is among the countries that signed the Abuja Declaration that stated that state parties were going to support health and 15 per cent of the national revenue would go to health. It is painful when I say on the Floor of this House that even from the 15 per cent that state parties are opposed to set aside, we do not have money that has been set aside to train oncologist. Even if we buy or rent equipment and we have not trained the personnel and not paying them handsomely, medical tourism will forever be in Kenya. In the Senate, we allocate a lot of money to go to the counties for the purpose of health. However, when you go to the counties and to the ground, things are different. If you follow cancer survivors, you will find that they are languishing in pain. Go to Githurai; some of them call me until I do not know whether to block them or not. They want support from me because they know that I am a cancer survivor. However, as a Government, we are failing. We have to see how to ensure that cancer survivors are given National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) cards and get treatment freely. That is because it is not by choice that they have cancer; anyone can get cancer. When it comes to cancer, it knocks the high and mighty and the lowly. It has no choice. Therefore, it is just our onus as the Senate to see how we will to intervene, especially when it comes to the issue of cancer. When a head of a family is diagnosed with cancer, the entire family is affected. Even the children are affected in terms of performance in school. They are affected psychologically and need to be counselled and talked to. They need a support system. It is unfortunate that when one is the head of the family and is diagnosed with cancer, sometimes one loses a job and the same person has children and so many needs. These are the needs that take someone to the grave because there is no one to empathize with them or feel what they are feeling. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, there is no one to sympathize, feel for you or say that you are dying of Cancer and find ways to intervene. Rarely do people even offer to give the children of Cancer patients, who have papers, jobs so that they can help their families. I speak on this issue with passion because I am a Cancer survivor. I hope that I will touch Senators in this House to support this Motion. I hope that counties will also 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."
}