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{
    "id": 476941,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/476941/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 181,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Chanzu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 11,
        "legal_name": "Yusuf Kifuma Chanzu",
        "slug": "yusuf-chanzu"
    },
    "content": "in the Ministry of Health felt that they should be the ones to deal with it, but the Office of the President also felt that, maybe, because it had the matter of AIDS at its heart, it was the best placed to deal with it. You can imagine the kind of confusion that has brought. They do not have experts in the Office of the President. This has been taken round in circles. We even had the Ministry of Special Programmes, which tried to deal with the matter. This has been handled in a very haphazard manner. That is the reason why the committees that we set up in the constituencies several years back have not been functional. Even the reporting has been a big problem. So, with an Authority like that one in place - the Kenya National AIDS Authority - it will be easier for us to handle HIV/AIDS. Some of the Members have said that this will be a waste of time because you want to take the money to the counties. We know what is happening in the counties. Even the simple medical issues which the counties are supposed to be dealing with, they are not dealing with them. For instance, they are not equipping hospitals. They are not having doctors. For example, in Vihiga, Mbale Hospital does not have doctors. It does not have medicine. So, if we take this to them, it will be a bigger problem added to them. In fact, we need a specialised unit. I hope that when it comes to staffing that Authority once it is in place, we will treat it as a specialised unit where we will have experts who can deal with these matters. We had Prof. Obel who carried out research on the treatment for HIV/AIDS. But because of the tug of war that was there at the headship of KEMRI, we did not realise good outcomes out of that. If we have a specialised body like the proposed Kenya National AIDS Authority, it will be much easier to have experts there. They can deal with the matter based on the findings that they make. The most important thing with those bodies, as we talk about them, is adequate funding. If you do not have adequate funding for those highly skilled institutions, the people you employ there will also get demoralized. That will create a problem because they will not be able to do their work. Fortunately, Kenya has highly qualified and skilled personnel, but our country does not seem to appreciate talent. That is the reason why you find that some of them are demoralised. Even doctors in hospitals are not working to their maximum because they are not properly paid, housed and, generally, they are not respected. What they are doing is not respected. It is not very easy to train a doctor. Therefore, once we put them in those institutions, we must give them due respect that they deserve. We must pay them well and provide funds for their research, so that they can do their work adequately. It is not a must---"
}