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{
    "id": 1144750,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1144750/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 269,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) James Nyikal",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 434,
        "legal_name": "James Nyikal",
        "slug": "james-nyikal"
    },
    "content": "I second this Bill, whose objective is to provide a framework for regulations of community health workers, their training, their selection and the Council that guides them. I support because when we started, it was community health workers. However, terms like ‘volunteer’ have been brought in and are bringing confusion. Article 43 of our Constitution provides for a right to health care, and our country seeks to achieve this through the agenda of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The most important element in achieving the provision of Article 43 through UHC is prevention of disease, promotion of health and early recognition of diseases and treatment at that point. The second one is health care financing, which means getting enough money to finance health care. The third is adequate health human resource; health workers. If we implement the community strategy working with community health workers, this will significantly reduce the cost of health care. If you detect a cancer when it is still a lump and it is excised out, you will probably use less than Kshs100,000. If you treat it at the fourth stage, you will use millions and require the use of expensive equipment. So, one of the best ways to reduce the cost of healthcare is early recognition, prevention and promotion of health. The Bill seeks to entrench community health workers as part and parcel of our health work force. By doing so, it will reduce the requirement of the number of health workers we need. So, if we can use this system, reduce the cost of care, reduce the need for a health workforce, that will go a long way. How will the community health workers do this? As we have said, their role is prevention, promotion of health and early detection. Their role is working at the community level. People do not get sick in hospitals, but at home. That is where illness starts. They will address the social determinants of health. The things that we eat, the places we live in and the areas we work in so that we can address the causes behind the causes. Bacteria will cause cholera, but if you can have clean water, you will not get the bacteria. So, the cause behind the cause is clean water, and that is what they will address; the causes behind the causes, by advising families. All these things lie in the community. When people get into hospitals because they are sick, it is rather late. So, we must address this at the community level."
}