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{
    "id": 907564,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/907564/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 365,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Farhiya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13179,
        "legal_name": "Farhiya Ali Haji",
        "slug": "farhiya-ali-haji"
    },
    "content": "Health is one of the devolved functions in our new Constitution. Therefore, we should also devolve mental illness facilities to counties so that people can have access to the care that they need in all the counties. Mental illness is compounded by drug abuse and alcohol. Therefore, unless we take care of the drug menace factor, we might reduce the impact but we will not manage this problem and give it the attention it deserves. This is an issue that should be of concern to this country because drug abuse is at the highest level now, even in areas where before, drug abuse was minimal. While some counties have learnt how to deal with it, there are others where this problem is coming up and becoming a real issue. Madam Temporary Speaker, I cannot stop thanking Sen. Kasanga for bringing this Bill because the burden of dealing with mental illness is enormous. This is so, especially, where the bread-winners get mental illness and the parents are ageing. The caretakers who are ageing do not have enough strength and resources to take care of the person suffering from mental illness. This is a real challenge. I remember, as I was growing up, there was one old woman whose two sons were suffering from mental illness. All of them are deceased. That mother was poor, aging and ailing. I cannot imagine the level of suffering that those people went through. The fact that mental illness care is being devolved to counties, it will offer relief, especially in cases where people who are mentally ill are at a combative stage. Rehabilitation centres will deal with people suffering from mental illness at the county level. There are different levels of mental illness. Some people may be exposed to certain trauma and as a result get mental issues. They end up abusing alcohol and drugs. If such people can get access to mental healthcare at that level, a lot of other issues can be resolved. Given the statistics that our Majority Whip has talked about, a quarter of this country is suffering from mental illness. That is a very big number compared to the rehabilitation and recovery centres that are fully sponsored. A few people can afford to take their family members with mental illness to rehabilitation centres. For families that are poor-a big percentage in this country are poor-that can be a daunting task. The other issue that I wanted to talk about is our armed forces. There are a lot of mental issues within our armed forces. As much as they are trained and armed, they also have personal needs and challenges, just like the rest of us. An officer who has been engaged in combat and seen many of his colleagues being murdered needs psychosocial support. Lack of this support leads many of them to break down. They become alcoholics and abuse drugs, because there is nobody out there to help them deal with that situation. It is high time we also looked at the mental health of our armed forces. Madam Temporary Speaker, this Bill has also taken care of a lot of issues. I thank Sen. Kasanga for dealing with the issues in detail, to ensure that persons with mental issues are protected. There are many people out there; in the streets with mental illnesses without anybody to take care of them. Besides being on the streets and facing challenges, they are still abused. This mostly affects the females. As a result, some families are forced to take care of the persons with mental illness together with their children. It is good that this Bill takes care of all these issues. 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."
}