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{
    "id": 943899,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/943899/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 108,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Nyamunga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 738,
        "legal_name": "Rose Nyamunga Ogendo",
        "slug": "rose-nyamunga-ogendo"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to reply to this Motion. First of all, I am grateful to the Senators who have shown interest in this Motion and added a lot of flesh to it. I thank all the Senators who have contributed to this Motion starting with Sen. M. Kajwang who seconded it and gave us some information that I did not have. That is, in Turkana County, Gov. Nanok has gone ahead and put in place a system that works for him. He has done the units from the village, sub-location, location and community level. This means that he has started the walk. So, it is up to the rest of the governors to put these things in order. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, we all know that healthcare is one of the President’s Big Four Agenda. It is his legacy that it should be successful now and onwards. There should be continuation of proper health care for Kenyans. I also thank Sen. Poghisio for supporting this Motion. I also thank Sen. (Dr.) Langat, who gave good contributions. Most of the contributions that we have got from Senators will help us to make this a Bill that will go a long way to make sure that healthcare is provided to each and every person in Kenya. One of the problems that we have in our country in as far as healthcare is concerned is facilities. As many Senators have said, we are building many Level 5 hospitals. However, we are putting a lot of money on the structures which is not enough. We should go to the basics. We do not need to travel to India for some of the diseases that we suffer from. However, at the same time, we should make sure that people get value for money and services. Some people are not able to afford medical services because they do not have money. This is because the little money that they have is meant for the day’s food. So, they would rather be sick and stay at home. For example, I am not a doctor, but I can tell a child who is sick by touching his or her body. However, people lack resources. Sometimes, it is the infrastructure and the vastness of some counties which makes it difficult for some people to reach the hospital. So, if community health workers are equipped with the necessary equipment that will identify diseases without guess work, it will help many people. I also thank Sen. Wetangula who also talked of something that used to happen in the villages a long time ago, that is, Afya Bora. I do not know how it escaped my mind. These are some of the things that we should bring back to make sure that our people do not suffer as much as they are. At some stage, in the former President Kibaki’s Government there was a lot of spraying against malaria during the rainy seasons. We never suffered from Malaria that much. Community health workers can visit villages and make sure that people do not have stagnant water bodies which could breed mosquitoes. It is also important to make sure that we have toilets and running water in all the villages. Running water does not mean tap water; it means that people can improvise any technique that can make running water available, for example, to the children. So, this will work as prevention to most of the diseases that we suffer from. For example, it is raining right now. What are we doing about it? Are we waiting for people to die? The numbers that we have heard of are bad. People are dying because we do not plan well or teach them enough times. 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."
}