Kenyan Doctors' Strike Halts Health Services

A nationwide doctors' strike in Kenya paralyzed health services at some government-run hospitals which were already suffering due to a lack of medicines and equipment.

The medics are taking the action, now in its second week, to demand an increase in pay and better working conditions, their union said.

Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), an umbrella body with over 7,000 members, said the strike would continue until their demands are accepted.

The affected hospitals are currently staffed by nurses and clinical officers who are limited in the services they can offer.

A court order issued last week suspended the strike and urged negotiations but the union vowed to soldier on with the industrial action, which began on March 13.

"It is clear that a well-intentioned individual cannot repeatedly reopen negotiations that lead to an endless cycle of meetings without progress," KMPDU said in a statement, terming the court decision "unjust".

At the center of the row is a move by the government to slash the salaries of medical interns and delay employing them on permanent and pensionable terms.

The doctors have planned a peaceful demonstration and a march to the health ministry's headquarters, parliament, treasury building and to the county governors' offices.

The government has threatened to recruit unemployed doctors to fill in for those on strike.

In 2017, Kenyan doctors staged a 100-day crippling nationwide strike that left public hospitals shut and patients unable to access basic medical care.

Dozens of patients died from a lack of medical care during the walkout, which ended after a deal was agreed.

But doctors have accused the government of reneging on some agreements, leading to the current strike.