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{
    "id": 981630,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/981630/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 31,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13219,
        "legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
        "slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also rise to congratulate Sen. Loitiptip for raising this very important matter. If we were all to give our personal experiences from our respective counties, issues of dealing with health are the ones that are causing the greatest pain to the people we represent here. Although this discourse is now at the national level where issues dealing with constitutional reform are making recommendations for a National Health Commission, there is something that the governors are not doing right. This problem of health facilities not working is not restricted to the County of Lamu. About two weeks ago, I was in Nyamira County. I had a neighbour who had the misfortune of being bitten by a snake. You cannot imagine that this person was taken to Keroka Health Centre, but they did not have anti-venom in such a facility. In Nyamira Referral Hospital, there is no anti-rabies vaccine for people who have been bitten by dogs. The situation we are in, if we were to be honest, is to say that we do not have any health care at the county levels. In some instances, we hear stories of governors or their associates who have even opened pharmacies and chemists in Nairobi. When they pick drugs from Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) they divert them to some pharmacies and then they take boxes to counties. We have a serious problem and if we want to speak on behalf of the people we represent, the reality is that people are crying and they are looking at the Senate to do something. This is a matter that - I can see the Vice Chair of the Health Committee looking at me there - that should be elevated to the level of being looked at by the entire House. This is because health is the most critical function that was devolved to the counties, but people are not seeing benefits. If we are at a level where even pain killers are not available in hospitals, then what kind of service are we getting from our counties? I support the Petition that has been brought by Sen. Loitiptip and urge that we elevate this matter so that we can even do random visits to counties and then table a report before this House, so that we can bring the true picture of what is happening in counties in matters of health,. I can tell you without fear of contradiction that the situation in my County of Nyamira is even worse than what is in Lamu. 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."
}