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{
    "id": 477005,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/477005/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 245,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. ole Ntutu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2535,
        "legal_name": "Patrick Keturet Ole Ntutu",
        "slug": "patrick-keturet-ole-ntutu"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me this opportunity to also contribute to this very important Bill. From the outset, I want to support this Bill, because it is very good, taking into account what has been happening in our country. I also want to thank my good friend, hon. Jared Odhiambo Opiyo, for bringing this very important Bill to this House. I know that he has worked very hard to bring this Bill to this honorable House. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the National AIDS Control Council (NACC) has done a lot since the HIV/AIDS was detected in our county. This is because the infected percentage of between 12 and 14 in this country was worrying. We have now come down about 6 per cent. I think they have done a lot. Just like any other organization, the NACC has reached a point where its performance is now going down. We used to hear about HIV/AIDS every time we went to a baraza of a Chief and what the Government was doing about it. However, in the last three or five years, this has gone down in terms of advocacy and sensitizing our communities. That is why this authority will give impetus in terms of taking new measures. This is because things have changed in the way we have dealt with this disease in the last ten or 15 years. We have heard from our experts, particularly Prof. Nyikal that things have changed. HIV/AIDS is now affecting our youth more than what used to happen. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, the constituency AIDS committees have not been doing a good job because they lack funds. I think most of my colleagues have talked about this. These committees were formed, but they were not allocated any money to move around and sensitize communities on HIV/AIDS. It is time for us to create the Kenya National AIDS Authority, so that it can strengthen, harmonize and co-ordinate all issues pertaining to HIV/AIDS. When you look at funding, for a long time we have been depending on donors. Just as in our budget, we used to depend a lot on donor funding, people giving us aids, so that we can talk about HIV and AIDS. I want to say that time has come for our country to do this work alone because we can do it. There are a lot of resources that we have as a country, having an authority that can deal, particularly, with HIV and IDS I think will go a long way in helping us reduce HIV and AIDS infections in our communities. I think we have a lot of resources in this country. To give this authority power to mobilize resources that we have in this country for prevention, control and management of HIV and IDS is something that is most welcome. As I end, I want to say the independence that this authority will have---"
}