Doctors employed in Kenya’s public hospitals went on strike on Monday, saying the government is risking their lives by forcing them to treat Covid-19 patients without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and not insuring them for treatment if they fall ill. The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, with 7,000 members nationwide, announced their decision late on Sunday on Twitter. It said the government had not responded to grievances the union has been raising since March when the country reported its first coronavirus case. “It’s about the safety and welfare of the doctors,” Chibanzi Mwachonda, secretary-general of the union, said on Monday. The country’s fight against the coronavirus would be badly hampered by the doctors’ walkout, but he said the medics had no other choice. The doctors’ union joined nurses and clinical officers working in government hospitals, used by most people in the country, who have been on strike for two weeks.
SOURCE: BUSINESS DAY LIVE