Kenyan doctors strike continues regardless of court orders

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) insists the doctors’ strike is at rest, even with the government’s proposal to dispatch medical interns from April 1.

In a press conference on Monday, March 18, Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha said the government’s intend to position interns is part of a wider evaluation of the internship procedure.

“We have briefed the union that we have now received confirmation from Treasury and from April 1, we are going to start posting all the interns,” stated Nakhumicha.

She expressed the government was committed to positioning the program with worldwide health coverage goals.

However, KMPDU Secretary-General Davji Atellah has contradicted Nakhumicha’s statement of compromise and conveyed misunderstanding over the government’s goals and the lack of transparency on the existing policy’s weaknesses.

“We have not been informed of the problem with the current policy, so it is very difficult to have a conversation while we do not know what the issue with the current policy is,” Atellah said.