Doctors in Kenya’s public hospitals are now in their seventh day of a nationwide strike, alleging that the government has failed to fulfill numerous promises outlined in a collective bargaining agreement signed in 2017, following a 100-day strike that resulted in fatalities due to inadequate care. The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union initiated the strike, citing the absence of comprehensive medical insurance for doctors and the government’s failure to deploy 1,200 medical interns as key reasons. Despite a court order urging the union to suspend the strike for negotiations, union leaders claim that approximately 4,000 doctors are participating in the strike, citing the government’s past disregard for court orders to increase doctors’ salaries and reinstate suspended colleagues.
The strike’s repercussions are being felt nationwide, with numerous patients either not receiving care or being turned away from hospitals throughout the East African nation. Patients like Josephine Njeri at Kenyatta National Hospital recount hours spent waiting without any medical attention, reflecting the widespread impact on healthcare services.
In response to the situation, Susan Nakhumicha, Cabinet Secretary at the Ministry of Health, visited Kenyatta National Hospital to assess the situation. She assured reporters that referral hospitals are operating effectively and emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring the functionality of all national hospital facilities.
The current strike echoes the events of 2017 when public hospital doctors in Kenya staged a 100-day strike, the country’s longest, demanding improved wages and the restoration of dilapidated public healthcare facilities. Their grievances also included calls for ongoing doctor training and recruitment to address a severe shortage of healthcare professionals. At that time, public doctors, who undergo six years of university training, received monthly salaries ranging from $400 to $850, comparable to salaries of police officers who undergo only six months of training.
