Meru MCAs have called for lowered costs for cancer drugs and a waiver to the medical bills for those who succumb to cancer.
The MCAs were speaking after passing the Meru Cancer Institute (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which now awaits Governor Kiraitu Murungi’s action.
They complained that cancer had rendered many families in Meru poor.
According to Abothoguchi West MCA, Patrick Muthuri, government hospitals should not detain bodies of cancer patients due to unpaid bills.
He added that when patients die, the families' financial situation worsens as they are forced to sell land for treatment costs, travel and incur other costs.
Kiegoi-Antobochiu MCA Kimathi Ithibua and Nkuene MCA Martin Koome said managing a chronic disease was expensive.
Koome said, “Cancer is ravaging Meru more than others (counties). I attend fundraisers all the time. Patients go for specialised treatment in Nairobi, which many cannot afford.”
According to Health Committee Chairman Martin Mworia and Mr Ithibua, there is a need to expeditiously conclude a research at Kiegoi, Riaki and Buuri where cancer prevalence rates are reportedly high.
Ithibua said, “We want the research to establish if, as it is claimed, that pesticides and asbestos used in buildings in Kiegoi are to blame.”
The Cancer Institute Board's first mandate will be to cluster Buuri, Igembe and Imenti to establish cancer types in the areas and causative factors, Mworia affirmed.
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