Kenyan doctors have taken to the streets in a strike demanding improved working conditions and increased staffing levels. They argue that a previous agreement made with the government has not been fully implemented. The doctors are calling for better wages, adequate protective equipment, and an increase in the number of healthcare professionals to address the country's healthcare needs.

Nairobi

Kenyan doctors are currently on strike, protesting for enhanced working conditions and a rise in staffing levels. They have voiced frustrations over an agreement previously reached with the government, claiming it has not been completely realized. Their demands include higher wages, sufficient provision of protective gear, and a boost in the workforce to more adequately meet the healthcare needs of the nation.

The strike has led the medical professionals to demonstrate on the streets, highlighting the urgency of their concerns. This move underscores the existing strains in Kenya's healthcare system and the doctors' determination to seek improvements that would benefit both healthcare workers and patients across the country.



Kenya's medical workforce strikes over pay, working conditions

These doctors say they plan to stay away from work until the Kenyan government hears their grievances. They're demanding better working conditions. They also want more doctors employed at understaffed state hospitals. These complaints are not new and date back seven years. That strike lasted 100 days. The consequences for the health care system were devastating. And patients died. A deal was reached but doctors say the agreement has not been fully implemented and renewed negotiations haven't resulted in much. We still have to continue having talks because whatever the government was proposing yesterday is unheard of. You see, Kenya has ratified ILO conventions and we protect and enjoy the right to collective bargaining. So the gains that we secured in the year 2017 that the government now is choosing to go backtracking on. So we stand together as doctors to say no. Most of the 5,000 doctors have stayed home for more than a week now. Some hospitals have stopped admitting patients and halted emergency and specialized services that only doctors can provide. A majority of Kenyans can't afford private health care. Many of those who are here today are young doctors. Some say they don't even have a proper legal contract to practice yet they continue to do the work in government hospitals. So they say that they want their rights and they will not stop until their grievances are addressed. The striking doctors are also calling for the hiring of interns who say they are bearing the brunt of workloads at state hospitals for relatively low salaries. We graduated eight months ago. We submitted all our names to the Ministry of Health. Until today they have not posted us. They have been threatening to delay our posting, threatening to post us next year, threatening to reduce our salaries. It's not fair and we've had enough. The health ministry says it can't afford the more than $36 million it estimates it needs to hire more staff. Catherine Soy, Al Jazeera, Nairobi.

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