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{
    "id": 907553,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/907553/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 354,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kihika",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13216,
        "legal_name": "Susan Wakarura Kihika",
        "slug": "susan-wakarura-kihika"
    },
    "content": "pulp by the husband, just because she had decided that she did not want to be with him anymore. Those cases have continued to repeat themselves and some are graver than that; where ladies have been killed. This seems to happen week in, week out. It is no longer just young Kenyans doing it, but it is affecting the older people in the society. We saw about a few weeks ago, a man in his 50s killing the wife and then himself. We have seen this happening with the rich or poor people in our country. This is one of those things that just cuts across. We must be able to have interventions that help those who are affected, especially given that so many people in our population are affected. When we talk of mental illness, I believe most people just think of what we have heard here about being mad, so to speak. However, we have seen that depression is one of the most common forms of mental illness. When we go about our daily lives, I think even us, as politicians, we have probably gone through depression. When I first came to the Senate for the first one year or so, I was just like a zombie. I had lost a whole team of my staff as I came into the Senate to a helicopter crash. They died and I had been with them for two years. After that, life did not feel the same. We were at the lake for many months hoping that we would be able to find these people. What I saw with their families was extremely devastating. However, what was the saving grace for us is the Red Cross community in Nakuru County. It is very organized, active and strong. They were able to do a lot of counseling for these families and I think this is what helped them to heal. We know many Kenyans go through a lot of difficult situations and emergencies. They get depressed and they are not able to tap into any sort of help or counseling. A lot of it has to do with the stigma that is attached to an issue. For example, if I am suffering from malaria, cancer or pneumonia, I am able to say I am sick. Today, I cannot come to work I need to go to the hospital and get treated. However, when it is mental illness, we are hesitant. Sometimes we do not even recognize that we are going through some form of mental illness and we need treatment. We then continue as a country not being in a proper mental state and nobody can help us because we do not even have access on top of the stigma. There is also a lot of discrimination that the people who have mental illness face. It makes many people shy away from seeking help. What I really like about the Bill by Sen. Kasanga is a lot of that has been taken into account in it. I also like the fact that there is a lot of emphasis on the dignity of the person who is suffering from mental health. As they seek mental health, you will see that there is a lot of requirement that they are handled with dignity. It is also a requirement of the Constitution that every person has access to healthcare. Therefore, it is time that we funded and included mental health in our healthcare system. One of the major issues that we see from the statistics that are out there is that we do not even have the human resource. We only have 62 psychiatrists who are registered with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB). When I am thinking of a population of about 45 million to 50 million people with just 62 psychiatrists, then it shows you how much human resource is lacking. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}