Doctors at Kenya’s public hospitals have entered the seventh day of a nationwide strike, accusing the government of failing to implement a number of promises from a collective bargaining agreement signed in 2017 after a 100-day strike that saw people dying from lack of care.
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 post 1,200 medical interns.
Leaders of the union say 4,000 doctors are taking part in the strike despite a labor court order asking the union to put the strike on hold to allow talks with the government.
Doctors union leaders say 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.
The impact of the strike is being felt across the country with many patients left unattended or being turned away from hospitals across the East African nation.
SOURCE: By Rédaction Africanews
