Today, the news in Kenya is marked by the strike of doctors in public hospitals, who are already entering their seventh day of mobilization. Their movement aims to denounce the government’s non-compliance with a collective agreement signed in 2017, after a previous 100-day strike which led to deaths due to lack of care.
The Kenya Union of Doctors, Pharmacists and Dentists is demanding in particular comprehensive medical coverage for practitioners, as well as the appointment of 1,200 medical interns. Despite an order from the labor court ordering the union to suspend the strike to open negotiations with the government, 4,000 doctors are mobilized.
Union leaders say they intend to override the order, just as the government did by refusing to respect three previous court decisions aimed at increasing doctors’ base salaries and reinstating suspended practitioners.
The consequences of this strike are being felt across the country, with many patients left without care or turned away from hospitals across the country. Josephine Njeri, a patient at Kenyatta National Hospital, describes her endless wait for a consultation: “I have been here since 8 a.m. this morning. We were told to wait for the doctors, but they are not there. We are just in the queue since this morning.”
Health Minister Susan Nakhumicha visited Kenyatta Hospital to assess the situation. She told reporters: “To my knowledge, the referral hospitals are operating quite well and we are committed to ensuring that all facilities under the national hospitals continue to operate.”
This doctors’ strike echoes a previous movement in 2017, where doctors in public hospitals protested for 100 days to demand better salaries and the renovation of the country’s health infrastructure, as well as the continued recruitment of medical staff to compensate for a serious shortage of health professionals.
At the time, doctors in public hospitals, who undergo six years of training at university, received a base salary of $400 to $850 per month, comparable to that of some police officers who undergo only six months of training. .
In conclusion, this doctors’ strike highlights the ongoing challenges facing the Kenyan healthcare system and highlights the ongoing struggle to improve the working conditions of healthcare professionals and ensure access to quality care for all.