Inside the two health bills that will see quality care for mothers, children, and family

Members of Parliament have proposed merging two related health bills that seek to enhance quality care for mothers, newborns, and reproductive health within the family unit. The proposal emerged during a meeting convened by two parliamentary caucuses: the Parliamentary Caucus on Children and the Parliamentarians for Global Action Caucus.

The meeting was chaired by Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo, who is also a sponsor of one of the bills under discussion: the Family Reproductive Healthcare Bill, 2024. The second bill, the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Bill, 2024, was proposed by Nominated Senator Beatrice Ogolla. While the latter bill is currently before the National Assembly, the former has not yet undergone any readings.

Also read: Forgotten by SHA: Teenage mothers detained in hospitals over bills they cannot afford to pay

During the Wednesday caucus, Millie hinted at the possibility of a merger, noting that the two bills are related and could ideally serve a common purpose. Both bills address a wide range of issues, including family-centred health services, obstetric violence, quality maternal and newborn care, inclusivity for persons with disabilities, the right to referral and to query diagnoses, respectful treatment by healthcare workers, fatherhood-centred reproductive health services, safe motherhood, and access to preconception information. Specific clauses, however, remain subject to change depending on amendments introduced at various stages of the legislative process.

When Paul Kibichiy Biego, MP for Chemusei, took the floor, he shared a personal story about the loss of his child, expressing hope that the legislation would ensure parents receive better attention during and after childbirth. He recounted that when his fourth child was born, the baby’s grandmother noticed the infant had turned yellow, a sign of jaundice. The child was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Although Paul and his family informed the attending gynaecologist, he said the doctor dismissed their concerns.

“He brushed it off,” Paul told the caucus. “What amazed me is that a doctor could be told that and still release such a child to go home, only for them to develop cerebral palsy.”

He believes that proper care and follow-up after the jaundice was detected could have prevented future complications. “To this day, I don’t know who to blame or what measures I should have taken because of negligence,” he said. “The child became 95 per cent dependent on others. We lost my child when they were only eight. The practitioner ought to have taken such things seriously.”

Millie noted that her bill would extensively address the challenges men face regarding reproductive health. “By the nature of our society, we fear talking about those issues. We want to provide a framework that brings what we have culturally into the modern world,” she said.