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Roundup: Kenya healthcare crisis continues as doctors' strike enters 24th day

Xinhua, December 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

Kenya's healthcare crisis continued as the doctors' strike over pay entered its 24th day on Wednesday.

Talks between the medics and the government have not resolved the standoff as both sides have maintained their hard line positions.

On December 5, over 5,000 public sector doctors downed their tools demanding a 300 percent pay hike based on an agreement signed three years ago.

In 2013, the government and the doctors' union signed a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that called for a review of the working conditions of doctors and the hiring of more doctors in order to change the disproportionate patient-to-doctor ratio in the country.

Currently the lowest paid doctor earns a salary of approximately 1,028 U.S. dollars per month.

The secretary general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, Ouma Oluga, told journalists that the doctors will not return to work until the CBA is fully implemented.

"Our intention is to improve the working conditions of doctors so that Kenyans can enjoy world class health services," Oluga said.

The strike, which has paralyzed operations in public hospitals, has also dampened the Christmas festivities as patients have been forced to seek medical help in the expensive private health facilities.

So far at least 20 patients have died as a result of the labor dispute.

Early this month, the government deployed military doctors to treat emergency cases at the Kenyatta National Hospital, the country's largest referral hospital.

The current labor dispute is also likely to complicate Kenya's efforts to achieve universal health care by the year 2030.

The strike is continuing despite having been ruled illegal by the labor court.

In a move to solve the medical crisis, the government is in talks with India and Cuba in order to hire foreign doctors.

The doctors' union has criticized the move, claiming it could jeopardize the health of Kenyans if the country employs unqualified medics.

The Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya has also threatened to stop supplying drugs to public hospitals if the strike is not resolved by January 3, 2017.

In a move that is likely to deepen the health crisis, 45 out of the 47 county governments have placed advertisements seeking to hire medical personnel. In Kenya, some doctors in public hospitals are paid by county governments. Endit