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{
    "id": 763638,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/763638/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 313,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ganya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 18,
        "legal_name": "Francis Chachu Ganya",
        "slug": "francis-ganya"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for this opportunity to contribute to this Adjournment Motion. I surely support it. I want to address something very unique in North Horr, my constituency, in Marsabit County. In this time and age, nobody in the world should die because of malaria. In some parts of this country, Baringo and Marsabit counties in particular, many Kenyans have lost their lives due to the malaria crisis. In Marsabit County, 28 people have lost their lives in the last one month. About 26 of those people hail from my constituency and 85 of them hail from a ward called Dukana on the Kenyan-Ethiopian border. Marsabit or northern Kenya is a lower Malaria endemic area. Because of this, our health facilities were ill prepared to deal with this crisis caused by mosquitoes in Marsabit. Since we were ill prepared, we did not have Malaria drugs in our health facilities. We did not have diagnostic kits to test Malaria patients in our health facilities. We did not have mosquito nets and adequate personnel in our health facilities, logistics such as fuel, vehicles and resources that are necessary for us to counter the crisis. As a result, we lost over 28 Kenyans to Malaria which is a big shame and should never happen anywhere in the world in this time and age. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, most of the facilities in our counties and Marsabit County in particular, lack ambulances. Many facilities had very limited or very low capacity. Two people died in Muite Ward in Laisamis Constituency because they did not even have a single ward to admit them. They could not even admit any of the patients who eventually died without any attention. When this crisis occurred, we were also experiencing severe drought in most parts of northern Kenya. As a result, people were so weak. They are highly malnourished in the sense that they had very low immunity to Malaria. Some were highly anaemic. Actually, 14 patients had to be referred from Dukana Heath Centre to Kalacha Level 4 Hospital which is over 120 kilometres away so that they could get blood transfusion. Unfortunately, the blood was not available. It had to be availed from Nairobi and other parts of Kenya. I am glad to report that these Kenyans have been saved and are now recuperating in Kalacha Level 4 Hospital. It is important for me to appreciate that even though the response was really delayed, when it came, it came in a very handy way. Both national and county governments responded. I want to particularly single out the Kenya Red Cross who not only flew in medicine, Malaria drugs and diagnostic kits, but also came in with the necessary personnel who were able to do serious medical outreach using vehicles and ambulances. With that, they were able to go and assist the patients in the rangelands or in their manyattas. This is a nomadic mobile community and most of them were out with their livestock. They were able to reach them and test them. Those who were found to be Malaria positive got drugs and as result their lives were saved. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}