Govt. urged to allot funds to tame cancer

Govt. urged to allot funds to tame cancer

The motion moved by the Homa Bay county representative in the national assembly Gladys Wanga to push the government to allocate funds on its budget to fight the cancer menace has elicitated many questions.

Cancer being the third killer globally after infection disease and cardiovascular disease which has hit at 82000 annually. According to Mrs Wanga 70% of cancer related deaths globally occur in developing countries.

She urged the government to mitigate the situation by offering the scholarship to at least one medical master student per county to study oncology.

While pitying for many Kenyans who walk thousands of kilometers to seek the medication on the killer disease, she said the monetary constraints has denied many outpatient cancer affected to access the treatment.

“The government should sign a memorandum of understanding with the oncologists who are available for them to serve in designated cancer treatments centers to help in eliminating the travelling barriers. Of course, oncologists themselves are most likely to have an idea of radiotherapy’s effectiveness as a cancer treatment, but they are certainly keeping quiet about it why?” she advised.

Wanga believes that the disease is affecting many families psychologically and economically putting into consideration that many live below the dollar.

She added that the government should equip the available hospital across the country to help in reducing the congestion at Kenyatta National Hospital the only hospital offering the cancer treatment.

She said that we can find a cure which it has probably happened multiple times. “Why is it that nobody wants to cure cancer. Too many researchers earn a living seeking a cure by remaining inside a narrow, restricted channel of dogma. Their institutions get grant money and survive from the funding. Big Pharma makes big bucks selling chemotherapy drugs, surgeons remove tumors and various radiation devices employ radiologists and firms making these machines”. She added

Trans Nzoia county representative member of national assembly Janet Nangabo said the national government should come in to address the shortage of clinical officers.

Nangabo lamented on the rise of many Kenyan clinical officers who are seeking green pastures outside the country attributing it poor working conditions and low payment on their pay slips.

“If the government cannot motivate them there is no way we can expect an orange juice from a lemon if the environment our brothers and sisters are working in is not welcoming”, Nangabo echoed.

She said the Indian doctors have become famous due to the increased number of many Kenyan patients who are seeking the advanced medication in their country.

She added that if the Kenyan government can allocate in 2016/2017 budget as of the HIV/AIDs the menace can be well controlled.

Also she urged the Kenyans to get used to traditional food saying it causes less harm scientifically compared to what people it in their day to day lifestyle.

The same statement was echoed by Tigania East legislature Mpuru Aburi who also accused of the county government of not doing enough to bettering the services to its people.

The legislature believes that if the counties can put good measures the national government can be offloaded the burden.

He said,”The budget that the counties get every financial year can be enough plus the revenues that they collect to provide better services to Kenyans in all counties”.

He also blamed the government that it has failed to curb the corruption which he says has broken into many Kenyan people and denying the better services in public institutions and killed the morale the service seeker.

Sabatia legislature Agoi Alfred and Mombasa county representative Juma Khamisi  both blamed on the rise of defilement cases which they say many culprits are living untouched by the law while the victims end up contracting cancer related problems.

They also urged the government to fund the sensitization funds that can help in people visiting hospitals for check up to reduce the spread of cancer to individual person.

According to the government has not done enough to tame the beast that has left many of its citizens hopeless.

“We want to say that we support the work that the government is doing but not well to our people hence let it work together with other non- governmental organizations in mending the vice”, Agoi said.

However they criticized the traditions that encourage early in the society saying it is sloughing for cervical cancer among women.