about one year in which one may undergo
surgery, heal, then undergo several sessions
of chemotherapy, heal, and finally undergo
radiotherapy sessions before one can be
declared cancer free.
The cost of cancer treatment is prohibitively
expensive and it is easy to see why. There is a
paucity of specialists coupled with a lack of
equipment plus the long period it takes to
bring the disease under control.
It is on this dismal backdrop that Ochieng
would like to discuss the outcry that Kenyans
are now directing at the government. Let’s
be clear, we are not talking about 3 deaths
but a shocking 33,000 Kenyan lives that are
lost annually.
But to put this into an even better perspective
is the fact that cancer is currently the third
biggest cause of death in Kenya behind
pneumonia and malaria. These are relatively
easier diseases to detect and cure yet their
toll is still very high.
That a Kenyan can die of a preventable
and curable disease is regrettable to say
the least and more so after fifty years of
independence, but why is there no hue and
cry agitating to declare pneumonia and
malaria a national disaster?
The sad truth is that no important person
is currently dying of pneumonia or malaria,
and even those that die of pneumonia are as
a complication arising from a primary cause
that is not pneumonia hence cause of death
is never declared as pneumonia.
We are aware that one of the pillars of this
government is the ambitious Universal
Health Care for all. One would assume that
when one speaks of a universal cover for
everyone it would include all diseases and
not a select few.
So it appears to Ochieng that what needs to
be declared a national disaster is the health
care system in Kenya and not any particular
disease. A death is a death irrespective of
what causes it and to die because one cannot
access treatment is the crisis.
The first line of a good health care system
is prevention. The adage that prevention
is better than cure is not hackneyed. The
Kenyan government is doing extremely
poorly on this metric which if done
effectively would save many lives.
Ochieng is aware that he is being over
simplistic since, for example, we know that
washing hands after going to the toilet
96 MAL31/19 ISSUE
The first line of a
good health care
system is preven-
tion. The adage
that prevention is
better than cure
is not hackneyed.
The Kenyan gov-
ernment is doing
extremely poor-
ly on this metric
which if done ef-
fectively would
save many lives.
dramatically reduces the incidence of
disease and it’s spread, but the challenge
is where is the water to wash the hands?
The second line of a good health care
system is access to a medical facility which
is equipped and within reach. For most
Kenyans access to a health center is a
pipedream and those that are available are
not equipped or even adequately manned.
The third line of a good health care system
is affordability. The ideal situation is that
all Kenyans should have access to free
medical intervention. So long as this is not
true then UHC remains meaningless and
a false promise.
So when our MPs yell for cancer to be
declared a national disaster, what exactly
are they asking the government to do. To
purely acknowledge that a disease called
cancer exists in Kenya which I think most
of us already know.
Our legislators are so ill informed on the
issues that affect Wanjiku that Ochieng
is inclined to opine that it is actually our
MPs that need to be declared a national
disaster. They have failed to articulate the
needs of those they represent.
While they latch on the issue of the day and
make as much noise as they can to lull the
electorate into thinking they are working,
they continue to enrich themselves at the
expense of Wanjiku while pretending to
speak for her.
But the real thing that should be declared
a national disaster is corruption. This
is really the cancer that is decimating
Kenyans. A cancer so deep rooted that
there is hardly an aspect of Kenya it does
not touch.
Corruption is what causes us to elect
incompetent leaders that are not then
able to use the national resources at their
disposal to plan and implement a better
future for all Kenyans without bias.
Unfortunately cancer is no respecter of
social status and this disease will ravage
the poor and the rich equally and that is
the genesis of the current panic. Kenyans
with resources are as vulnerable as those
without means and irrespective of how
far the treatment is sought.
Corruption allows the diversion of
resources that are meant for building a
robust healthcare system and we have
seen fraudulent importation of obsolete
medical machines which are rotting in
their packing cases.
Corruption is also the reason resource
allocation is skewed to grandiose brick
and mortar projects that allow for
maximum pilferage by our robber barons.
Kenya has truly become a thieving
nation where anything and everything
can be stolen.
Regrettably the three arms of the
government are competing with each
other to see who can outdo the other
in corruption and conveniently blaming
each other for the rot that is apparent to
all and showing no signs of abating.
The last word must be that all the good
things that the four pillars of our current
government including the goodwill
brought about by the handshake will
come to naught unless we can find
the courage to confront the cancer of
corruption.
Corruption is the real silent killer
robbing our children of their future,
denying all of us the development
that we crave to create a prosperous
Kenya. Kenyans are innovative, creative
and definitely hard workers if given a
conducive environment.
UHC is possible without corruption, can
we start by making the correct noise!