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{
    "id": 1460297,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1460297/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 193,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nairobi City County, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Esther Passaris",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "We need to understand that whilst we want to provide the medical counsellors and psychiatrists free of charge, we can still do it affordably through telemedicine. I know an organisation that is doing telemedicine. With Ksh700, you can speak to a counsellor over and over again. The Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) needs to partner with people who offer telemedicine so that Kenyans can, within one phone call and at Ksh700, get five counselling sessions in a day if they need it. I feel that we need to move with the times and provide prescription drugs that are recurrent in our SHIF cover. We need to make sure that we bring in drugs from affordable countries. There are generic drugs. We have a good relationship with India. I do not understand why we cannot have affordable low-cost pharmaceutical drugs available to our people. I discovered that the Psychologists and Counsellors Act passed in 2014. I followed up on it when I was in the Departmental Committee on Health. It was a question of budget and whether we could put a board together. I think they have now put up a board. Now we need to make sure that we provide counsellors, trainings, come up with the facilities in our schools for our children, have drugs in our hospitals, and get counselling sessions. We should give people building blocks to build a full life and live it. Mental disorder does not mean one cannot live a full life. Rather, you just need support and love. Remember it could be a mental condition when you see your loved one struggling. It is not the person doing something wrong. Mental conditions lead to using drugs. Such people need support. It is the reason I am coming up with the Harm Reduction Bill so that we can support everyone that finds themselves in a position where they became drug users because of their mental condition.I commend our sister for what she has done in this Motion. I pray that we see Kenya offer the best of medical attention when it comes to mental illnesses. Thank you."
}