HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 288246,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/288246/?format=api",
"text_counter": 360,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Prof. Anyang’-Nyong’o",
"speaker_title": "The Minister for Medical Services",
"speaker": {
"id": 193,
"legal_name": "Peter Anyang' Nyong'o",
"slug": "peter-nyongo"
},
"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, let me thank the Members of Parliament for raising extremely relevant and important questions. I will do my best to respond to them. First, to my dear friend, Mr. Keter Charles, the Americans say “Chark, I am never asleep on my job”. I know the hours for sleep to sleep and I choose them wisely. I will tell you that I will always respond with speed when duty calls. Having said that, I will say again that - my sister here will bear me witness - the Ministry of Health as a whole during those many years of Nyayo rule was very under- funded. We have inherited a long history of under-equipping, under-funding and low human resource. To catch up will take time. We would have wished to catch up since the NARC Government came to power, and a lot has been done since then. We are on the road to recovery. We have, therefore, done a baseline survey of all our needs. I have said it, and will say it again, that we cannot run away from it. Over the next three years, if, indeed, we have to respond to the demands of Article 43 of the Constitution, the Kenyan Government must be prepared to pump at least Kshs83 billion into the Ministry of Medical Services before even touching the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation. Health is a basic need of all Kenyans and we must put our money where our mouth is. Secondly, regarding blood donation, ever since the onset of HIV/AIDS volunteers for blood donation went down considerably. This is because people who could volunteer somehow feared knowing their status. However, that is improving. Therefore, the Government depends very much, for up to 90 per cent of blood donation, on school children. This is because they are the ones who are brave enough and clean enough to give blood. So, whenever we have such disasters we will always make these appeals. We cannot run away from them because the disasters come when we are not expecting them; as much as the Government can keep a lot of blood in our blood bank, given the onset of non-communicable diseases, which often require a lot of blood donation, the demand for blood in this nation is extremely high. Given that, I want to be very honest and say that whenever we have such disasters appeals will always go out for more blood to be donated given the state of affairs in our nation. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the second question from my friend, Mr. Chanzu, the matter is, indeed, bigger than the Ministry of Medical Services. The matter is directed to the Government. We need to have proper surveillance in our cities and elsewhere, so that we can detect danger when it is near. For that matter, the City of Nairobi has a programme of putting surveillance lights, or very complicated equipment, to be able to see what is happening in the City. I think it is called the closed circuit television (CCTV). That is being expended in the City to all corners, so that we can be prepared much better. Having said that, at least it is important with regard to being in a state of preparedness that we become our own policemen; public education should be mounted on television and radio about disaster preparedness. I think, maybe, I should request the Speaker that I give a Ministerial Statement on a comprehensive state of preparedness after consulting the Government, so that we can discuss the issue of disaster preparedness comprehensively, rather than deal with it piece meal as, indeed, this House will not be prepared to accept that."
}