Governors drive away medics over lack of funds

Kisii Governor James Ongwae addresses the Press at Delta House in Nairobi on May 12, 2016. He said there are counties that have returned medical doctors to the Ministry of Health due to inadequate finances to cater for their salaries. PHOTO | WILLIAM OERI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Out of the 757 intern medical doctors ready to be absorbed, the county governments said they can only take in 464.
  • The World Health Organisation recommends a ratio of 1 doctor for every 600 people.

County governments are returning doctors to the national government and refusing to absorb more despite a huge shortage of the personnel, saying they have no money with which to pay their salaries.

Out of the 757 intern medical doctors ready to be absorbed, the county governments said they can only take in 464.

According to the Economic Survey 2016, Kenya has a total of 9,734 doctors serving the nearly 46 million Kenyans.

This translates to 1 doctor for nearly 5,000 Kenyans, when calculated against the population. The World Health Organisation recommends a ratio of 1 doctor for every 600 people.

Council of Governors Human Resource Committee Chairman James Ongwae said that counties were allocating “about 50 per cent of their budget to health, 70 per cent of these going to salaries” which he said were untenable.

“Since the number for medical doctors who graduated from internship is higher than the number requested by the counties, there is a balance of 293 medical doctors yet to be absorbed,” Mr Ongwae told journalists at the council’s Delta House offices in Nairobi.

“We are aware that there are counties that have returned medical doctors to the Ministry of Health. This is due to inadequate finances to cater for their salaries.”

Mr Ongwae was speaking after he met the secretary-general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union Dr Ouma Oluga after doctors complained that they were under pressure at the counties due to shortage of staff.

Mr Ongwae said that counties had requested for 464 medical doctors, 174 pharmacists, 100 dentists and 103 specialists that they said they could pay for.

Of those, the National Government has posted 516 doctors, 138 pharmacists, 49 dentists but no specialists.

Governors have asked the national government for more funds so that they can afford to pay more doctors.