Doctors Start Seven-Day Strike
Doctors in Kenya have started a week-long strike over delays by the government to deploy medical interns. They are also complaining about the poor working conditions they say they have to work under.
The Labour Court had earlier issued an order to halt the industrial action to make room for negotiations. The judge asked the labour minister to hold talks with the doctors’ union and employers on Thursday to find a solution.
But the union says it did not get the court order.
Kenya is facing a huge public health crisis.
With doctors in state medical facilities on strike, patients who need help will suffer.
More than 1,000 interns – doctors who have finished their training and need to work for a year before getting their licences – have not been placed since January.
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The health ministry says it does not have enough money to pay them.
In other news, the South Korean government has initiated measures to suspend the medical licenses of numerous striking doctors amid mounting worries that the ongoing month-long dispute is impeding essential healthcare services.
Approximately 12,000 doctors from 100 teaching hospitals have participated in the walkout, resulting in canceled surgeries, extended wait times, and treatment delays, including for individuals in need of urgent medical attention, as reported by media outlets. BBC
