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{
    "id": 1233774,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1233774/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 263,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Seme, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) James Nyikal",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker for giving me this opportunity. Today, we are discussing an extremely important issue: cholera cases in four schools in different parts of the country; typhoid in a school where three people have died and, in Butere, an unknown disease mostly presenting with diarrhoea and vomiting. Hon. Temporary Speaker, this is a national problem and not an incident that has occurred in one place. We are talking about a widespread breakdown of our public health system because all those diseases are water-borne. They have to do with sanitation, food safety and water supply. So, the problem is across the board and yet, we are not speaking for those schools. There are well laid down systems of inspecting public eating places. Schools, hotels and restaurants are public eating places and should be inspected regularly. There should be regular inspection of places where food is sold, say, in markets and butcheries. We should ensure that water that is consumed publicly is safe. You may not know but Nairobi has a big water shortage and it is being rationed. That means we do not have enough water. You can see people buying water. When you buy water from a tanker, do you know of its source? So, we are dealing with a very serious issue. Food handlers, whether in hotels or schools, should be regularly examined and certified as disease-free. Is this being done? When there is disease outbreak in a community or institution and you suspect or know that it is an infectious disease that can spread, rule number one is that you do not close the place and send the people away to spread the disease across the country. A good example is the case Hon. Murugara has talked about, where kids were sent away. In Mukumu, all the kids were sent away and so, we have a national problem of public health. A mistake was made in one part of the country and similarly repeated in another part. We are all not safe and must call upon the national Government to collaborate with the county governments. I know this must be an issue about “who is in charge?” Disease surveillance is at the national level so as to monitor the country. I know this is where it belongs. Typhoid and cholera are deportable diseases and if one is reported somewhere, action should be taken where it came from. Has this been done? I think we have a national problem that must be addressed. There must be collaboration between the national Government, county governments and research institutions so that there is food and water safety in the country. We have no option but to have safety in the markets and restaurants. I thank the Hon. Member for bringing this matter here. I call upon the Ministry of Health to support the county governments. They may not have the capacity and I think there is the issue of “who is responsible?” Is it the national Government or county governments? When we are talking about public health in local places it does not matter because the responsibility still lies 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."
}