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{
    "id": 788654,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/788654/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 195,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Oluoch",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13425,
        "legal_name": "Anthony Tom Oluoch",
        "slug": "anthony-tom-oluoch-2"
    },
    "content": "Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support this Motion. This Motion is very close to my heart. Other than this Motion, there are only two other things that should be declared a national disaster alongside the cancer scourge. The only two things that, in my view, would befit the standing of a national disaster would be youth unemployment - which I would have contributed to in the debate earlier – and the third one after this is the issue of environmental degradation. As I rise to support this Motion, I want to state that one of the things that we need to deal with when talking about cancer is the issue of stigma and early diagnosis. I speak from experience because my dad has just completed his first session of the last six months of cancer. One of the things that we had to deal with as a family even after his early diagnosis is whether or not he would accept to go for treatment. We need to spread awareness so that people realise that a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. This can and has been reversed. I laud Kenyans like Professor Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, who not only braved the cancer treatment but has come out to talk about it. Just last night, I lost my aunt, Auntie Okinda. I received the news this morning. She was a woman who has bravely fought the cancer battle but lost it last night. As we think about such people and other people like my Auntie Beth, who are still fighting cancer but bravely bearing the struggle, we ask that the best practices be adopted such as in Makueni. Makueni County adopted universal healthcare through the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF). As we declare cancer as a national disaster, all the other counties should adopt such strategies. Makueni County, as I have read, allocated about Kshs160 million to NHIF. Even though the NHIF card only meets 40 per cent of the cost of cancer treatment, this can be a new beginning. As we deal with this issue, it is important that we also consider that the statistics are very scary. As has been said before, cancer accounts for about 8.8 million cases of deaths from 2015. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}