The government's decision to send nurses overseas for employment due to the serious shortage of medical personnel in the country has been harshly criticized by governors and others.
Kenya's Kwanzaa administration has announced plans to send nurses to Saudi Arabia. There are said to be more than 2,500 job openings in Saudi Arabia. However, local leaders have strongly opposed the decision, arguing that exporting medical workers would be counterproductive when there is already a huge shortage of medical workers domestically. Council of Governors (CoG) Health Committee Chair Msomi Nyuki expressed disappointment with the decision, highlighting the imbalance between healthcare demand and supply. He emphasizes the importance of retaining skilled professionals in the country while considering the possibility of exporting surplus personnel.
Governor Taraka Niti said it was ironic that after investing so much money in training health workers, they were sent overseas, leaving local facilities understaffed. To address this issue, Njuki suggests that countries benefitting from Kenyan health workers should provide compensation to cover the costs of their training. He referred to previous agreements under which Kenya sent nurses to the UK and stressed the need to approach such agreements from a financial perspective to minimize the impact on the local health system.
The county is grappling with paying the salaries of medical workers on research leave. The governor has emphasized the need for the Ministry of Health to step in and take responsibility for these salaries to relieve pressure on local governments. Additionally, the governor has emphasized the importance of prioritizing specialized medical training to address physician shortages in areas such as oncology and radiology.
“We are requesting the Ministry of Health to ensure that the county government pays the salaries of doctors on research leave to compensate for their leave,” he says.
