Kenya hosts Africa doctors’ meeting amid health strikes

More than 5,000 medical professionals from Africa are expected in Mombasa on Monday for an annual conference.

The Association of Medical Councils of Africa conference will discuss mutual recognition and reciprocal licensing, continuous professional development and licensing of foreign-trained doctors, among other issues.

It will take place when Kenya is grappling with a shortage of medical workers and strikes in public hospitals. Lamu, Mandera and Wajir are among the counties worst hit by a staff shortage due to insecurity.

This is the first time Kenya is hosting the conference, which brings together medical scholars from the continent and other parts of the world.

The meeting will take place at the Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort in Mombasa and is expected to end on Friday.

It provides a platform for delegates to share experiences and learn best practices in the medical profession.

ADDRESS

The president of the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities, Mr Niall Dickson, who is also the chief executive officer of General Medical Council in the United Kingdom, will address the participants.

The chief guest will be Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia.

The conference will bring together doctors from Botswana, Ghana, Malawi, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, among other countries.

Governors, the National Government and unions have been accusing each other of frustrating and undermining health services.

Doctors are also demanding a review of their scheme of service, which they say was last changed in 1992.

Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union Secretary-General Ouma Oluga said the conference would focus on the topic “Doctors: An Endangered Species”.

Despite the staff shortage, ethnic biases and nepotism were rife in counties’ health sectors, he added.

The government must develop a scheme that reflects the employees’ workload, working hours and skills, he said.

“The least-paid doctor earns a basic salary of Sh35,000, with a house allowance of Sh10,000, commuter allowance of Sh6,000 and hardship allowance of Sh600.

“Promotion has stagnated for more than three years,” he said.

The conference will be a boost to Mombasa County after Coast General Hospital recently gained global recognition when its team of 12 heart specialists, led by Dr Sero Aseyo and Dr James Munene of Kenyatta National Hospital, conducted the first open-heart surgery at a public hospital besides KNH.

At least 15 more surgeries are slated for September after more than 2,000 heart patients booked appointments at the hospital.

“Many of the patients who are seeking our services were booked in 2016 at KNH,” said Dr Sore, the only cardiothoracic surgeon in the public hospital.

PROCEDURES

He said the region was lucky that Coast General Hospital could perform open-heart surgery since KNH could only conduct about 100 of such procedures a year.

The hospital is the largest public health facility in the Coast region, with a 700-bed capacity.

While Kenyan doctors are rated among the best in Africa, the country's public hospitals continue to lose them to greener pastures abroad or to private practice. 

According to the union, Kenya has lost more than 2,000 doctors to Botswana, Namibia and other countries that pay health workers better wages.