Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Gladys Shollei has raised alarm over pesticides sold on Kenyan markets causing cancer.
Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, March 13, Shollei claimed that 262 pesticides confirmed to be causing cancer are sold in the Kenyan market.
Despite efforts to get rid of them, Shollei noted that only seven products have been withdrawn from the Kenyan market.
The woman representative for Uasin Gishu County indicated that the products are imported into the country without following the stipulated procedures.
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"Even as we discuss amending the Cancer Prevention Bill, we also need to remind ourselves that despite a petition that I brought before this house in 2019 which can help us further prevent cancer by ensuring the removal of 262 pesticide products that have been confirmed to be causing cancer," she stated
"If we are truly committed to this cancer prevention, then the first stop is to stop the products that are clearly causing cancer and are known," she added.
Shollei lamented that various relevant authorities led by the Health Committee, Pesticides Control Board and the Ministry of Agriculture have not intervened despite the revelation.
"So far since 2019, they have only received seven products, the rest continue to remain on the market. Some of the products were removed in markets abroad but here in Kenya they are sold under a different name," Shollei insisted.
The Deputy Speaker appealed to the MPs to help formulate policies that will bar cancer-causing products from entering the Kenyan market.
She noted that this will protect buyers and consumers and hence reduce the burden arising from cancer medication.
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