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{
    "id": 944452,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/944452/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 424,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "A lot of things have evolved. In the past, the old women with traditional skills whom we called in my language, nyamrerwa, used traditional skills that had been passed to them over generations. It was difficult for you to be born and just acquire those skills. Those skills were passed from generation to generation, from mother to mother. There are families that we knew that had the gift of taking care of sick people. It was not black magic. It was African traditional medicine. It was concoctions and infusions which if they were to be tested in today’s laboratories, would be found to be as effective is not more effective than what we currently get from the generic drugs and whatever else we get from the pharmacies. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I grew up in an area that was infested with tsetse flies. The tsetse flies would cause Nagana disease in cattle and Sleeping sickness in human beings. I can bet that if you go to a conventional hospital in Nairobi today, you will not get medication for tsetse fly. Indeed, many hospitals lack medication for snake bites. I think it is called an antidote for snake venom solution. It is because sometimes, those cases are not that many. When someone is bitten by a snake, by the time they are carried to the nearby health centre, chances are that they will have died. We must, therefore, have the principle of subsidiarity that is contained in the Constitution. Services and functions must be delivered at the lowest level possible. In the delivery of health care, the unsung heroes are the community health workers. A few counties have taken some progressive strides in mainstreaming community health workers in the healthcare service delivery. I would like to point out one county that has done extremely well. It will perhaps be important to carry out an evaluation to see how effective those interventions have been. Turkana County has come up with a Community Health Services Bill. I believe that the Governor, Hon. Nanok, has signed it and it is now the Turkana County Community Health Services Act, 2018. The Act comes up with an interesting structure. At the county level, it sets up a Community Health Services Committee that is comprised of the people who provide leadership for health services in that county. It is supported by a Technical Committee comprised of the chief officers and the directors of the medical services. The arrangement by Turkana County ensures that at the county level, when people are talking about healthcare delivery, it is not just about the Level 4 hospitals or the Collective Bargain Agreements (CBAs) for doctors and nurses, but the community health workers are also represented on the table. As it has always been said, if you are not on the table, then you shall be on the menu. At least the people of Turkana have made sure that community health services and community health workers are not on the menu because they are sitting right at the table at the county level. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, at the lower level, Turkana County has set up Community Health Service Units. The units are organised around locations and sub- locations. They are not made too big or too small. Within every unit, they have set up Community Health Services Committee. That means that there is a committee at the county level and another one at the unit level. Each community health unit is responsible for the identification, training, motivation and remuneration of the community health volunteers. For each community health unit, there is a community health extension worker. 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."
}