By Brian Okoth
The doctors' strike in Kenya entered its 37th day on Wednesday, marking more than a month of untold suffering for many people who cannot afford costly medical services at private hospitals.
There are five key issues at the heart of this strike: A demand for comprehensive medical cover for doctors, payment of doctors' pending salaries, posting of 1,200 trainee doctors, payment of at least 206,000 Kenyan shillings monthly ($1,570) to the trainee doctors, and fulfilment of a collective bargaining agreement signed in 2017.
President William Ruto has asked the striking doctors to return to work, saying the government does not have money to meet their payment demands, as that would amount to Kenya "living beyond" its means.
According to government records, at least 63% of Kenyans primarily rely on public hospitals for treatment. That represents slightly more than 30 million out of the 50 million Kenyans.
Intern doctors' salaries 'slashed by 91%'
And now, the life-saving public health facilities have largely been deserted as doctors keep off work.
The Kenyan doctors' union secretary-general Davji Atellah has vehemently opposed the government's move to slash the stipend paid to trainee doctors by 91%.
President Ruto's administration seeks to stop paying the intern doctors 206,000 shillings monthly, and wants them to accept 70,000 shillings (an equivalent of $530) every month.
Doctors in Kenya must undergo medical internship to fully qualify as physicians, but the government is yet to absorb some 1,200 medical interns.
Low number of employed doctors
As of 2022, Kenya had slightly more than 9,600 doctors, translating to one doctor attending to at least 5,260 people in the country.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that one doctor should attend to 1,000 people in a specified period.
In what was faulted as a questionable decision, the Kenyan government had, in 2018, signed a six-year deal with Cuba for the posting of 100 Cuban doctors to Kenya. The foreign doctors were paid 882,000 shillings (or $7,900) every month. Kenya terminated the deal in October 2023.
Despite the shortage of doctors in Kenyan public hospitals, there are more than 4,000 jobless physicians in the East African nation today.
Medical insurance cover
The striking doctors also want the Kenyan government to fully cater for their medical insurance cover, honour agreement on promotions, and improve their working conditions.
In 2017, Kenya experienced its longest ever doctors' strike that lasted 100 days. It was the CBA of that year that ended the strike, and government's failure to fully implement it, has triggered the current go-slow.
Studies show that during doctors' strikes, the number of deaths, especially among infants, increase due to poor quality of healthcare and reduced access to emergency services.
Across the continent, Nigerian doctors staged a strike from July to August 2023. In Mozambique, doctors stayed off work for 42 days – from July 10th, 2023. A local newspaper Carta de Mocambique, which cited medical sources, said there were more deaths during the strike.
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