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{
    "id": 813213,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/813213/?format=api",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, I was saddened today to read something in the newspapers to the effect that county governments will lose most of their health budgets. This is absolutely ludicrous! We need to focus on building our healthcare facilities and the wellbeing of this country. What annoys me most is that even insurance companies in this country do not pay for mental illness, yet it is a form of health support. It is, therefore, very important that when we talk about coming up with policies in this country, we should consider these people who suffer from some form of mental illness. That is the only way that we can build this country. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, it worries me to read the Kenya Heath Policy, which states that about 25 per cent of all Kenyans who seek outpatient treatment and about 40 per cent of the people who seek inpatient treatment suffer some form of mental illness. These Kenyans have nowhere to go for support because, as the Mover of this Motion stated, there are only 14 facilities in the entire country. If you asked some of us about where to go to seek some form of support, you will be shocked to hear that we seek it in computers. I have personally downloaded an application called “Calm” to probably calm me down from all the stresses of this work. Therefore, if all of us are trying to find a solution, yet we have a country with taxpayers and devolved services, but we do not want to accept that we have devolved them, it actually begs a lot of questions in terms of our priorities in building a healthy nation. Some people, especially in rural areas, cannot access any form of support maybe from depression or stress. This escalates further to a point where they completely go cuckoo. The only place that their families can send them to is the Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital (MNTRH). This is something that has affected me personally and my family because at a young age, my brother was diagnosed with some form of depression. Since there was nowhere to seek support, he was sent to the MNTRH, which affected his quality of life. Most people in the rural areas or slums of this country end up suffering tremendously and their quality of life changes completely. This is because the Government has not developed a policy that creates a separate budget to cater for mental healthcare facilities. Mr. Temporary Speaker, it is important that when we talk of devolution, we look at it wholesomely and ask ourselves what we would want to have around us. A person from Narok County should not have to come to Mathari Mental Hospital to speak to a shrink if he is going through some form of depression. Similarly, someone from Samburu County should not have to travel all the way to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Nairobi to seek mental support. It is high time that the Ministry of Health listens to what this country is calling for. That is the reason why we are in this House. We want to ensure that all the 47 counties have at least one mental healthcare facility with all services available, including shrinks, nurses and even some training facilities. These facilities can come up with programmes to reach out to the rural areas, to speak to people who do not understand these things. It is imperative for us, as a country, to make healthcare – not only healthcare in general, but mental healthcare – part and parcel of our daily policy. The situation, as it is, is saddening and I hope we will think about this nation in a more progressive and healthy way. 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."
}