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{
    "id": 1419290,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1419290/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 342,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wambua",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13199,
        "legal_name": "Enoch Kiio Wambua",
        "slug": "enoch-kiio-wambua"
    },
    "content": "I said that a right delayed is a right denied. I like the drafting of this Bill and the detail there in that both levels of Government have been assigned responsibilities in great detail. This is to ensure that there is proper access to timely and appropriate healthcare for mothers, newborns and our children. I want to point out a few areas of concern in this Bill beginning with Clause 7 of the Bill, which talks about care to pregnant mothers or women. It will be remembered that a few weeks ago, when the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Hon. Nakhumicha, appeared before this House to respond to matters related to health, she said on record that with the new Social Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), the issue of Linda Mama was being scrapped from the system and Government policy. Clause 7 of this Bill gives women of this country the assurance that even if the Government has since moved from that policy pronouncement position, there is a law that entrenches protection and care of pregnant women. It would be much better for the women of this country to get protection on medical care from an Act of Parliament than a policy pronouncement, because as we have seen with the Linda Mama policy pronouncement, a Government can very easily walk away from a policy. However, it will not be easy to walk away from rights enshrined in an Act of Parliament. Going down to Clause 8 is where I begin to have problems with the assignment of responsibilities to both levels of government. We say that health is largely a devolved function. As is the case with all the other devolved functions, the roles and responsibilities of the national Government are limited to policy guidelines and standards."
}