Kenyan doctors intensified their national strike on Thursday by ceasing emergency services at public hospitals, marking the second week of the labor action.
The strike, which began last Thursday, has seen thousands of doctors stay away from hospitals in protest of poor pay and working conditions. This action comes despite a court order mandating talks between the doctors and the Health Ministry.
Secretary-General of the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union, Dr. Davji Bhimji, stated that the doctors expanded the strike and ceased providing minimum services due to the government’s lack of efforts to resolve the dispute.
“We managed to close the emergency services at the Kenyatta National Referral Hospital this morning,” Dr. Bhimji told journalists on Wednesday.
Health Minister Susan Nakhumicha announced on Wednesday that she instructed two top referral hospitals to recruit replacement doctors for those participating in the strike.
“We will not allow a crisis to happen… We cannot afford to have a gap,” Minister Nakhumicha said, noting that temporary replacements for doctors were offered starting Wednesday night.
An Associated Press journalist confirmed on Thursday morning that emergency services at the Kenyatta National Referral Hospital in Nairobi had resumed.
The Ministry of Health is set to issue letters on Thursday to 1,000 medical interns who will be posted to various hospitals nationwide.
The striking doctors accuse the government of failing to fulfill promises, including a collective bargaining agreement signed in 2017 after a 100-day strike that resulted in deaths due to lack of care.
A meeting between the union, ministry officials, and State House officials is scheduled for Thursday to address the stand-off, which has left thousands of Kenyans without essential public health services.
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