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{
    "id": 1407833,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1407833/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 412,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "The Cabinet Secretary shall put in place measures to ensure access, by every pregnant woman, to health services. The health services include early detection of pregnancy. Women, while pregnant, have a right to know as early as possible that they are pregnant. Then, they will get the special care they require. They are entitled to free prenatal care and referral to childbirth preparation classes. If you talk to most young women, you will realize that nobody prepared them for childbirth. There are some who, when they give birth, do not know how to handle a child. These women require this kind of preparation because those children are entitled to quality care. Madam Temporary Speaker, they are also entitled to referral and adoption services, to health care services in the intrapartum period and during the post-partum and post-natal period. There must be a training of even feeding and care of infants, including breastfeeding support practices. As I talk about this, some people might assume that those are skills that people just get to know naturally. We are in an era where our young girls, because of school and other current activities, do not even live with their grandparents. Long time ago, women lived with their grandmothers, and they would train them on some of that care. Therefore, we do not want to assume that they have those skills and that is why this Bill spells out those services. It is on this note that we even applaud the Linda Mama Initiative. We encourage that it goes on because it has been a relief to our women in the past. On this, we go to the neonatal services, the period and services that children under 12 years are entitled to. This Bill spells out that every health care provider shall provide to a child from the time of birth to the age of 12 years. Madam Temporary Speaker, some of these services are spelt out; that is a comprehensive newborn care, including post-natal follow-up as may be prescribed. Additionally, it provides for health services that ensure child survival growth, because that also has been a challenge that we cannot ensure. As I said, every baby born stands a fighting chance to celebrate their first month or first year of life. Therefore, this Bill ensures that there are services that are spelt out for children from when they are born up to when they are 12 years old. As I have said, it spells out that the health services will ensure child survival growth and development including, optimum child nutrition, childhood vaccination, growth promotion and monitoring, developmental promotion and monitoring and child protection service. In some parts of this country, we cannot be sure that children are getting the right food for their growth. A progressive country must ensure that children have access to basic food that ensures that their growth is optimal. I have often seen certain services like food being given to early childhood pupils in some schools. However, there is nothing that compels the schools and Government to provide this kind of nutrition. There are other areas in this country that I have said where children survive on the very basic. However, we are looking forward to a community that grows well and children that will grow into responsible Members of this country and service this country. That is why some of those services are prescribed in this Bill. This"
}