The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union said they went on strike to demand comprehensive medical cover for the doctors and because the government has yet to place 1,200 medical interns.
Dr. Davji Bhimji, secretary-general of KMPDU, said 4,000 doctors took part in the strike despite a labor court order asking the union to put the strike on hold to allow time for talks with the government. Dr. Dennis Miskellah, deputy secretary general of the union, said they would disregard the court order the same way the government had disregarded three court orders to increase basic pay for doctors and reinstate suspended doctors.
Miskellah said medical interns make up 27% of the workforce in Kenya's public hospitals and their absence means more sick people are being turned away from hospitals.
In an interview with leading broadcaster Citizen TV, Miskellah said doctors were committing suicide out of work-related frustration, while others have had to raise funds to get treated for their own illnesses because they do not have comprehensive health coverage.
The impact of the strike was felt across the country with many patients left unattended or being turned away from hospitals across the East African nation. Some doctors, however, have remained on duty to care for patients in the intensive care units.
Pauline Wanjiru said she brought her 12-year-old son because his broken leg had started to smell, but she was turned away from a hospital in Kakamega county in western Kenya.
In 2017, doctors at Kenya's public hospitals held a 100-day strike — the longest ever held in the country — to demand better wages and to push the government to restore the country's dilapidated public-health facilities. They also demanded continuous training of and hiring of doctors to address a severe shortage of health professionals.
At the time, public doctors, who train for six years in university, earned a basic salary of $400-$850 a month, similar to some police officers who train for just six months.
Forum