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"id": 225860,
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Dr. Kibunguchy",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Health",
"speaker": {
"id": 294,
"legal_name": "Enoch Wamalwa Kibunguchy",
"slug": "enoch-kibunguchy"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I will be very brief because, as Prof. Ojiambo stated, we discussed this Bill, extensively, during the last Session and we were in agreement in many areas. However, before I 768 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 18, 2007 tackle one or two areas about this Bill, First of all, I would like to congratulate Prof. Ojiambo for her tireless efforts in making sure that nutritionists and dieticians of this country have a home, so to speak, where they can all belong. I would also like to congratulate her, because in the course of trying to work out this Bill, we had an opportunity to sit together with her and the technocrats from the Ministry of Health and other people who deal with the issues of nutrition in this country. We harmonised and ironed out some of the grey areas that were causing a bit of discomfort in various quarters. As I stand here giving the Ministry's position, I can confidently say that most of the areas and, some of the amendments we will be proposing during the Third Reading, have been discussed with Prof. Ojiambo. We are in agreement. As I said earlier, this is a Bill we have talked about. It is long overdue. It will give nutritionists and dieticians a clear framework from which to work and enforce standards in terms of training and practice. To us in the Ministry of Health, this Bill is most welcome. I will touch on three areas. One of the areas is that as we have seen in this country, we have two extremes. This applies in virtually everything. We have extremes in terms of riches and poverty. We keep talking about it. We also have two extremes in terms nutrition. On one extreme we have the malnourished; people who cannot get enough to eat in terms of both quality and quantity. In the other extreme, we have the obese; people who eat junk and unhealthy foods. That is why many people say we are what we eat. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the things this Bill will do is to look at some of the newer aspects we are witnessing in this country. Some of the areas that Eng. Okundi mentioned, will be addressed by this Bill. They call them food and, sometimes, we call them drugs. They are being sold all over the world. They are being touted as a cure to most of our problems. The issue of food supplementation is with us. In some areas, it is good, but others, are dubious or not very clear. This Bill will enable us move into those areas and ensure that foods that come to this country are suitable for human consumption. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the second area I would like to talk about is the way we, at the Ministry, feel. We are in agreement with Prof. Ojiambo in the way the arrangement of the whole Bill should flow. First, the Bill talks about an institute. We are in agreement that an institute is the body that will bring all nutritionist and dieticians in this country into one basket. The institute will meet at least once a year. It will basically deal with the welfare of its members. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, below the institute we have a much leaner setting called the council. We do not have a problem with the names. It will be a much more professional body. It will look at the aspects of training. I would like to inform hon. Members that training is not only at the tertiary institutions. In fact, most of our universities offer degree courses in nutrition. Some people have even PhD degrees in nutrition. The council will deal with aspects of training, curriculum, examination setting, standards and registration. If possible, it will also discipline members of the institute. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, below the council we have three arms that will look at various aspects of the council. One of the arms will look at the aspect of training, the other registration, et cetera . So, if it flows that way, we do not have any conflict and duplication. We are in agreement as to how it will be. Finally, we are entering into an areas where we say professionals must regulate themselves. Professionals know what their problems are. They should be able to set standards. They should also be able to set in motion steps to discipline errant members of their profession. This is one of the things that this Bill does. We are in agreement. As much as possible, professionals should be able to regulate themselves. They should not be regulated by some big brother sitting somewhere. With those few remarks, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, I support the Bill."
}