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{
    "id": 1407844,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1407844/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 423,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Crystal Asige",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "A salient feature of this Bill is that it highlights the importance of access to quality health care and education by the public. Paying special attention to minorities, at risk people, marginalised communities and people with special needs. This demographic has historically had extenuating challenges in accessing quality and non-discriminatory maternal health care. Madam Temporary Speaker, additionally, the inclusion of Community Based Organisations (CBOs) in interventions will go a long way in making sure that provisions for the maternal, new born and child health services are delivered with due sensitivity towards cultures of various communities, to ensure adaptability, acceptability and other reasons that we always see across the country. According to the latest Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), as a Nation, we currently enjoy decreased mortality rates for children compared to the last three decades. This trend shows tremendous progress. Yet, there are still so many things to be done. Kenya’s current mortality rate amongst children is 41 deaths per 1000 live births for under five-year olds and 21 deaths per 1000 live births for neonates most of which are preventable causes. With the world average at 38 deaths per 1,000 alive births for under five-year olds and 18 deaths per 1,000 for neonates, there is clearly still a need for targeted interventions for the Ministry of Health (MoH) to adhere to as well as relevant State Departments to solve. Upon analysis of this Bill, it is clear that the focus is on interventions meant to bring us closer to the world average in line with our commitment to Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) of 21 per 1000 under-fives and 12 per 1000 neonates. Of course, we have a long way to go and wish for even less than that in future. Hopefully, that will happen through the enactment and implementation of this Bill. Madam Temporary Speaker, Sir, I bring to your attention some specific provisions that will benefit from clearer definitions or additional information in this Bill. I hope that my sponsor is behind me taking notes. In Section 2, the definition of person with special needs could benefit from the additional of physical and neo-diverse, as one of the categories of people with special needs. They are of course, a particular category of people with disabilities that are not often understood and therefore, not often catered for in our legislation. Further, on this note, I also request the sponsor to refrain from using the terms “persons with special needs” and instead use “Persons with Disabilities”. That is jut in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), as well as the African Charter on Disability that, we are now signatories to since Constitution 2010. Of course, we need to be in line with more palatable definitions of person with disabilities. I also call upon the Sponsor to consider adding a section that gives provisions to create a separate mental health wing in all maternal health facilities especially, for women and girls with disabilities to access and use. This is because, women and girls with disabilities require a specialised support in the area of prenatal care, postpartum depression, anxiety and so on."
}