{"id":806029,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/806029/?format=json","text_counter":92,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Sen. Olekina","speaker_title":"","speaker":{"id":407,"legal_name":"Ledama Olekina","slug":"ledama-olekina"},"content":"Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to condole my friend, Senator Okello. I first met Sen. Okello at the Serena Hotel with his beautiful wife and we shared a cup of coffee immediately after we were both declared winners in the General Election. I found him to be a very intelligent and interesting person who was determined to work for the great people of Migori. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the late Sen. Okello fought a brave and strong battle against cancer but he lost. This is a lesson that we all have to learn. I believe we invest 20 percent of our national budget in healthcare. The biggest question to ask is this: Do we even have a Cancer Research Fund in this country yet cancer is now undoubtedly the number one killer? Cancer is consuming our population and if we had the Cancer Research Fund, how much of it would we invest in early detection? How much of it would we invest in better treatment of cancer around our country? Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the death of our colleague gives us an opportunity to interrogate this epidemic. I remember reading in history that way back in the 1800s when there was an epidemic of cholera, people in the United States and the United Kingdom went back to look at the way they lived without genetically modified food. That is the question we ought to ask ourselves. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we now have data of food that can help prevent cancer. Our markets are now open and anyone is free to bring in any food. There are known pesticides that cause cancer but we are so gullible that we are welcoming so much and we do not take precautions. The high statistics of the people who are being killed by cancer is mostly caused by negligence by our Kenya Bureau of Standards authorities (KeBS).When you hear that counterfeitgoods are being sold in the market, most of the people who end up suffering are in the rural areas. They cannot afford to be screened for the early detection of cancer. It behooves us now to interrogate and maybe move a Motion in this House that will force the Ministry of Health to set up a Cancer Research Fund from which funds will be set aside to educate our public on how they can detect cancer and embark on early treatment. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, many Kenyans travel to India and other countries for cancer treatment yet we have Level Five hospitals here locally. We have hospitals here where people from Southern Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda and other neighbouring countries go to be treated, because they believe that our hospitals are the best. But we, as Kenyans, The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate"}