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"id": 907664,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/907664/?format=api",
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"speaker_name": "Sen. Kasanga",
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"legal_name": "Sylvia Mueni Kasanga",
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"content": "Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have listened to every Senator who has spoken on this Bill. Frankly speaking, 30 minutes is not enough for me to reply. What I heard on the Floor of this House are heartfelt submissions on an issue that is affecting some personally; but mostly because leaders are concerned about the state of our nation today. It is true that there is no health without mental health. That is a fact. Today, mental health is a global issue. This Bill is not a re-invention of the wheel at all. We have drawn the issues from the Health Act and the Mental Health Policy, 2017. These are things that can be achieved and done. I thank the Senators who have contributed for their support and for feeling that it is about time that we see structures put in place. Beyond that, we see actual activity towards mental health issues. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, a lot has been said. It is true that it is not a small Bill to canvass. When we were drafting this Bill, we looked through all the different aspects, again borrowing from best practices. However, more importantly, from the fact that somebody somewhere in this country had looked at these issues when they were doing the policy. It is saddening that after all that, nothing had been done; the administration and the Ministry of Health did not go ahead to do something about it. Therefore, for me and the Senate, we can say that it is God’s timing that this is happening. It is a fantastic conversation to have. It is the beginning of a fight against stigma when national leaders begin to speak about this issue. In many fora where I have spoken, the minute a person mentioned that they have a personal story; you could see how people reacted. They would not believe that a Senator has had an issue with mental illness. I confirmed that I had been treated for Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). People do not think PTSD is a mental illness, which is terrible. When Sen. Poghisio stood up to make his submissions, he said that we do not understand these issues, which is true. Many Kenyans do not understand these issues. I remember when Sen. (Dr.) Zani stood to speak she did quite a bit of research. In fact, in the first five minutes of her submissions, she highlighted the different aspects of mental health, in fact, to a depth that I had not gone into. She really broke it down. Truly, we do not understand even beyond this conversation we are having here today, when we are closing this debate at Second Reading. I want to go a little further, with the indulgence of the Speaker, to propose that we have a sensitization forum, as leaders, so that we can also begin to understand it. We will have experts come talk to us and break it down for us, so that we understand what this mental health is. Therefore, I shall pursue that after this conversation. In fact, I had tried it before. However, we had to give room for our brothers and sisters who were fasting so that we can have it after Ramadhan. 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."
}