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"speaker_name": "Mr. Ethuro",
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"content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I also wish to contribute to this Bill. I really want to pay special tribute to the Mover of this Motion, hon. Kaino, the Member for Marakwet West. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, malaria is a killer disease that has caused a lot of displacements in some areas. For those of us who live in what you would consider virgin country, when settlements move to a particular area, surely, this disease will affect so many people to the extent that they will start believing in witchcraft. They will think that something is happening to them. In fact, as the settlements in the Lodwar Municipality were growing and expanding to areas that were less populated, the first people who used to be there used to be sick from malaria to the extent that they had to look for those traditional people to treat them. Of course, this is one disease that is not viral. We know exactly that it is caused by Anopheles mosquito. It has to bite you and suck your blood. As it is looking for food from you, it is also depositing the parasite into your system. The colonialists and, particularly the missionaries really helped this country. That was another killer disease. However, that disease does not have to kill. I had an opportunity to visit the Sesse Islands in Uganda where I had gone to represent the Speaker at the African Speakersâ Conference. We were taken to that island where they had to remove the entire population. They cleaned the entire place and disinfected it using the DDT in those days. Today, that place is habitable and there is no malaria. So, that disease does not have to kill. That is a disease that can be controlled. That is a disease that needs to be looked into. I just want to look at the entire situation of disease surveillance and how we manage diseases in this country. I am glad that the Minister is here listening. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I want her to know that if we take a place like Turkana, of all the other diseases, you will see that malaria is killer disease number one. Part of the reason is the challenge to access drugs and the nearest medical facility. I would like to thank the missionaries, on behalf of some of us who come from those areas, and the churches in particular, for helping us with the few limited facilities that we have. Out of the three health centers that I have in my constituency, considering I have five divisions, none of them is by the Government. In fact, the provision of health centers through the Economic Stimulus Programme is a very good opportunity for us to expand health facilities and coverage in the country. Out of the 58 dispensaries that I have, and I need more, less than 20 are Government-sponsored. The rest are supported by the churches. When we are in a situation where we cannot access drugs and there are no professionals to treat us, our people end up suffering, they lose their productivity and lead miserable lives. They go through all that because of a disease that can be managed if we got our public health system in place and in order. It is, therefore, in this light that I support the provisions of this Bill. They need to particularly look at the entire malaria prevention strategy. I hope that the establishment of the institute will consider all the options that are available to our health professionals, so that they can come up with what is good and viable for our country. Arguments have been there about mosquito nets; a net that you need only when you are sleeping. What happens when we are walking? What happens during the day? When Dr. Eseli was contributing to this Bill, he startled me by saying that there are many types of malaria. So, even when we put emphasis on mosquito nets, we may not be getting the proper picture. There are situations in other countries where the use of DDT, which was abolished, seems to be extremely effective. Other countries have done it. Can we isolate and manage it in a way that what we consider as the most effective tool is applied in our own situation so that we can eradicate that disease? Of course, the tropical conditions are very fertile grounds for breeding of mosquitoes. The way we manage our water ponds and all the other areas where mosquitoes can breed is a major cause for the spread of that disease. The question of whether the institute should be situated at Kerio Valley is something that I want to support completely. I do not know why people think that when you consider something to be a national institute, it must be in the capital city. A national institute can be located anywhere in the nation. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, if an hon. Member has the presence of mind and has considered it important to bring a Bill like this one; a Bill that even the Minister who should have brought it here is busy listening to us instead of telling us why he did not bring it in the first place, he or she would want to take something back to the people. That is because it is the good people of Marakwet West who gave us this Member who has looked into this matter. I think the Ministry and the Government should be courteous enough so that when the institute is established, it is situated at Kerio Valley. It is needy and it is necessary. That does not mean that we will not deal with highland malaria in Kisii and malaria issues in Nyanza, Coast Province or in Turkana. That is just a location. I think we owe it to the Member to ensure that the people of Marakwet have something to celebrate. Even if not for any other reason, the fact that the capital city of Nairobi is congested, we need to decentralize some of the services and institutions. An institute in itself will create opportunities for employment and improve the local economy. I think that way, we will have brought a bit of equitable development in our nation. If you look at the mortality rate of children under five years in some of the areas of our country---We have just heard hon. Odhiambo-Mabona giving the case of Nyanza. That is equally true in North Rift where the mortality rates are higher than the national average. Those statistics are getting worse as we progress. There is something we are not getting right. There is something that I expect, through this Bill, the Ministry will hear Parliament. That Parliament has spoken and said that there is killer disease. It is a disease that is squandering the lives of our people. Any textbook even in high school, when you read about something like this, it will tell you about the economic importance of something. In fact, as a student of biology, I used to be concerned how an insect can assume such an economic importance until I realized that it has that economic importance because of the mortality and morbidity rates involved. It will waste the most precious resource in our country known as the human resource. So, I just thought that it is really important to highlight the situation of that disease, particularly in northern Kenya and Lodwar in particular. As the Minister gives us an appropriate response, she needs to appreciate that Parliament has spoken and that the need for this Bill is there and we can only support it. With those remarks, I support."
}