Malindi MP Amina Mnyazi has announced plans for the local CDF to sponsor oncology students to increase the number of experts in cancer treatment in the constituency.
Mnyazi said her constituency was facing many challenges, particularly on the health sector, which requires investments in more health expertise to deal with the specialised healthcare.
Speaking during the official handover of bursaries to Shella and Malindi town wards at Upweoni Primary School, she said her the National Government Constituency Fund will give priority to give scholarships to the students who will be taking those special courses in her tenure.
“There is a disaster of cancer which as you know is finishing our people. Getting specialists offering cancer treatment has been a challenge, why don’t we educate our children to become doctors and treat us in the future?" she said.
The MP said such initiative has been successful in Kwale county, adding that her aim is to ensure it becomes a reality in Malindi and Kilifi county at large.
“If there is any student who is interested in studying oncology to be come a doctor of cancer diseases, please as a parent go to the MP’s office or CDF, give the name of the student and we shall look for ways of supporting him,” she said.
The legislator said those who will be sponsored shall have to sign a contract that after the training they would come to work in hospitals in Malindi to serve the people.
She said there has been a challenge on specialised care as medical experts have to be outsourced from Nairobi and only visit once every two weeks or per month, yet people are dying.
Mnyazi also called on residents of Malindi, especially youth, to apply for courses at Kenya Utalii College as there were many opportunities to study but the residents were not applying.
“Normally, there are slots for every region, including Central, Rift Valley and even Coast, but for the last two terms those from Coast are only 13,” she said.
The MP said she visited the college to complain but ended up being lectured because documents showed that there were very few applicants from the region who enrolled in the courses.
So far, she said, her office is in the process of forming a partnership with institution to offer short courses right from Malindi so that more people can get access to training.
While issuing the bursaries, Mnyazi said it was sad that in the last KCSE exam, Malindi did not get A in the results. She said she would convene a meeting with all teachers in the constituency to chat a way forward.
Shella MCA Twahir Abdulkarim who was also present together with other MCAs said when they took over office, the Malindi Subcounty Hospital was in bad state.
He, however, said they were in Germany recently with the Governor Gideon Mung’aro and soon the facility will get modern beds in the wards and other modern equipment.
“In two months, you are going to witness modern beds in our wards at Malindi hospital. The era of our brothers and sisters lying on wire mesh beds like those of boarding schools is going to be a thing of the past,” Abdulkarim said.
He said previously there were many challenges in accessing drugs in public hospital but since the new administration came in, all facilities now have drugs though there are cartels who are stealing them.
Already, the ward rep said, there would be a big announcement and names of those stealing drugs will be announced soon with others who will be prosecuted.
