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{
    "id": 813188,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/813188/?format=api",
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    "content": "to handle these kinds of illnesses within these 14 institutions. Mathari Mental Hospital has a bed capacity of 700 while Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) offers inpatient services and can only accommodate 70. These mental disorders are common and widespread. Many Kenyans are suffering from them yet they do not understand what the illnesses we are talking about are. What is mental health? I will come to that later. Madam Temporary Speaker, a World Health Organization (WHO) report has ranked Kenya sixth with the highest number of depression cases amongst African countries. These statistics are appalling. A 2011report by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHR) estimates that up to 25 per cent of outpatients and 40 per cent of inpatients in health facilities in Kenya suffer from some form of mental health condition. One in four Kenyans suffers from a mental disorder at some point in their lives, which is a very significant statistic. Madam Temporary Speaker, five out of six Kenyans with mental illnesses do not receive treatment. Why is that so? Further, do they even know that they are suffering from a mental illness? Statistics indicate that four out of five people who commit suicide in Kenya are depressed at their time of death. Therefore, depression is a national disaster and it can be attributed to the standards of living, which has become so expensive. Our economy has become so difficult and, as a result, a lot of Kenyans are depressed. All the time we hear Senators raising issues on the Floor about people behaving in strange ways. For example, the story of a man who impregnated 25 young girls somewhere in a community or a father who raped his own daughter of three or five years old or of spouses killing each other. All these are signs of a society living with a lot of depression amongst them. They do not realize that they are actually ill and that they need intervention. Madam Temporary Speaker, if I am to define what mental health is, the WHO has defined general health as a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease. The WHO definition of mental health has the same definition that is in our mental health policy. It defines it as a state of wellbeing whereby individuals recognize and realize their abilities. They are able to cope with normal stresses of life, work productively or fruitfully and make a contribution to their community. Therefore, that alone tells you that mental illness is not just schizophrenia, which we are used to or which you hear and then you say“that one is definitely mentally unwell.” Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves. It is characterized by hallucinations and delusions. That is just one type of mental health illness. There is also Bipolar Disorder, which is another type of brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in energy, activity levels and extreme mood swings. There is also Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. What about the other day to day things that cause somebody to have depression? That is a mental disorder as well and it needs treatment. Many people do not even realize when they are going into depression. They will resort to all sorts of interventions to deal with their depression from alcoholism to drug abuse and other behavioural issues. We can see how this is impacting on our society at large. Looking at the history of mental health legislation, you begin to understand why there is such a gap when it comes to mental health in our country. After colonization, 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."
}