Hundreds of hospital doctors joined a demonstration in the streets of the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Tuesday as a nationwide strike by medics neared its fifth week. Members of the 7,000-strong Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) have been on strike since March 13 to demand better pay and working conditions, disrupting health care at the country’s 57 public hospitals.
Kenya’s health system has been under severe strain as the doctors’ strike entered its fifth week, with the government adamant that it will not give in to demands for increased pay.
Speaking this week, President William Ruto reiterated that the government could not afford to pay doctors’ salaries as stipulated in the 2017 collective bargaining agreement between the government and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU).
The government is offering a monthly gross wage of 45 000-70 000 Kenyan shillings (£280-£440; €330-€515; $356-$554) for interns, rather than the Ksh206 000 specified in the 2017 collective bargaining agreement.
