Red Cross to hire temporary nurses in malaria-hit areas
Kenya Red Cross Society Secretary-General Abbas Gullet speaks at Nation Centre on February 24, 2017. The agency will hire nurses to help contain the malaria outbreak. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The nurses should be available for deployment and must be registered with the nursing Council of Kenya.
- County governments have begun advertising the position of the striking nurses.
The Kenya Red Cross Society is hiring nurses on a temporary basis to help deal with medical emergencies in 11 counties hit by the malaria outbreak.
This comes at a time nurses have vowed not to resume duty until their Collective Bargaining Agreement is signed.
The temporary nurses will be posted to Marsabit, Mandera, Baringo, Isiolo, Samburu, Wajir, Garissa, Tana River, Turkana, Lamu and West Pokot counties, where more than 50 people have died of malaria over the last two weeks.
DEATHS
More than 2,000 others have been diagnosed with the disease.
Marsabit County is the worst hit, having recorded at least 26 deaths while about 1,300 people have been diagnosed with the disease.
The disease has also claimed nine lives in Baringo County.
Kapau, Chesawach, Tayier, Gulel, Akoret and Kongor villages are the hardest hit.
LICENCE
Other affected areas include Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana County, where 438 people tested positive.
According to an advert by Red Cross, the nurses should be available for deployment and must be registered with the nursing Council of Kenya, and possess a valid practising licence.
“Interested candidates should send their applications quoting the county of interest on the subject line,” the advert states.
STRIKE
This comes even as county governments have begun advertising the position of the striking nurses, the latest being Kisumu, which is set to hire 210 nurses on a three-months contract.
Other counties that have also advertised for the positions to replace the striking nurses include Lamu, Kirinyaga, Muranga and Lamu.
