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{
    "id": 1405126,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1405126/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 502,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Crystal Asige",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, I rise to support the Motion moved here this evening. This is clearly climate change in action. It is a wonder to me why we are not taking disaster management funding more seriously and, in fact, increasing its allocation the more we are experiencing climate change and its effects on our country. Climate change-related crises have a direct impact to PWDs when it destroys accessible buildings, damages transport infrastructure and deteriorates our existing medical conditions, significantly reduces our economic participation and impacts our livelihoods, and makes it impossible for us to access essential services making us even more vulnerable to human rights abuses. Madam Temporary Speaker, you see why I was shocked as a Kenyan and Parliamentarian upon learning that there are no substantive conversations being had around us forging a path to disability inclusive disaster management, especially amidst our current weather patterns. Madam Temporary Speaker, we have experienced El Nino rains since October last year until February, 2024. Now, we have the long rains which have killed over 174 people in Kenya, including 133 adults and 41 children. It has also forced 530,000 people from 105,824 households to be evacuated. These extremes did not and have not spared PWDs in our households. We have heard from the Mover of this Motion that, so far, 32 people have died, 15 have been injured and over 103,000 people have been displaced in just the rains of a couple of weeks. Without critical budgets for disability inclusive adaptation, emergency relief, loss and damage being intentionally allocated and protected for during these climate crises to safeguard disability community, we are overlooked. Our allocations too are prioritised elsewhere and our needs are swept away with the rains. As a climate activist from Bangladesh said, disability is not a key priority and when the cuts come, they often come through disability. I wish that when we will be passing the Division of Revenue Act (DORA) and County allocation of Revenue Act (CARA), which are coming up soon in this House, we think very keenly about what we are doing if we chose to go beyond or differ what will be proposed by the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget. This is because every single penny and cent of these funds is important, especially for vulnerable groups such as PWDs in this country."
}