The national government and counties will share the costs of the 100 Cuban doctors expected in the country in two weeks.
A memorandum signed between Kenya and Cuba seen by the Star shows that the specialists will arrive on May 28 and proceed to the counties, with each county getting at least two.
They will work hand-in-hand with their Kenyan counterparts to roll out a range of medical services that are expected to radically change how a large number of life-threatening diseases are managed.
Universal healthcare is one the four pillars that President Uhuru Kenyatta has prioritised in his second term.
Yesterday, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) maintained its opposition to the plan. Secretary general Ouma Oluga told the Star the decision was made in haste and without regard to more than 2,000 unemployed Kenyan doctors.
“They include specialists available for employment and deployment to all the 47 counties to provide the much-needed services to vulnerable Kenyans,” he said. However, Dr Oluga supported the exporting of 50 Kenyan doctors to Cuba for training.
“That is a personal decision for individual doctors to make. There is definitely need for higher training of Kenyan doctors. What we are insisting is that training in Cuba should be done according to international standards,” he said.
According to the MoU seen by the Star, the ministry will pay the doctors’ salaries, while the counties will cater for their accommodation, ground transport and other work-related expenses.
On March 17, while on a state visit to Cuba, President Kenyatta agreed to accelerate a health agreement signed with Cuba last year to bring in doctors from the Caribbean nation to fill gaps in the county hospitals’ staffing. The doctors will need to be cleared by the Kenya Medical and Practitioners and Dentists Board.
The MoU does not say how much the specialists will earn but the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union estimates that the deal will cost about Sh2 billion annually.
The ministry remained mum over the cost of the exchange. Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki said, however, her ministry would continue to engage all relevant parties as the programme unfolds. She said the 100 medical specialists will comprise nine critical care physicians, three cardiologists, five orthopaedic surgeons, three plastic reconstructive surgeons, five nephrologists, three urologists, one neurosurgeon, two endocrinologists and 53 family physicians, among others.
Currently, Kenya has 2,204 active medical specialists of the 2,711 that are registered by the doctors’ board.
“In view of the World Health Organization’s recommendation of one doctor per 1,000 population, Kenya has an absolute deficit of 40,332 doctors. The Cuban specialists are therefore a first step in bridging the doctor-to-population ratio in our country,” Kariuki said.
The Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Rashid Amana, has invited all governors to meet in Nairobi next Tuesday to sign another MoU between them and the national government.
The memorandum specifies how the two levels of government will share responsibilities.
“The Ministry of Health has finalised the recruitment of the 100 specialist doctors from the Republic of Cuba as directed by the President during his State visit,” said Amana, who has been following the agreement.
Also read:
AGREEMENT
The agreement between the two countries covers a raft of areas. They include, first, the secondment of specialists and then technical experts to operate equipment.
Kenya will also work with Cuba on collaborative research projects, develop training for primary healthcare workers and partner to build the capacity to undertake genetic engineering and biotechnology.
The agreement also covers the two countries’ participation in research and advanced trials of medicines in areas where Kenya is vulnerable: using therapeutic anti-HIV and anti-prostate cancer vaccines; using vaccines to control influenza and meningitis; and controlling of diabetic foot ulcer amputation. It also covers the vector control in the fight against malaria.
Among others, Kenya will look to Cuba for vaccines against ticks to reduce the use of chemicals in animal health.
The specialists will work for two years, while 50 Kenyan doctors will also train in Cuba for two years. According to the MoU, the counties will continue paying the Kenyan doctors who will go to Cuba and safeguard their pension rights, while the ministry will cater for their travel.
"The ministry will also enrol the students into an approved comprehensive medical insurance scheme, as per the regulations in force in the Republic of Cuba,” the MoU says.
The MoU obligates the ministry to ensure the specialists are paid their salaries by the 10th day of every month, to pay for their flights to Kenya and back to Cuba during annual leaves and final departure.
The ministry will also provide them with professional medical indemnity insurance cover and relevant work permits. They enjoy both Kenyan and Cuban public holidays.
“The ministry will grant each specialist an annual leave of 30 calendar days which may be spent in the Republic of Cuba. The rest of the days shall be spent within the territory of Kenya,” the MoU says.
County governments are expected to provide furnished apartments to the doctors but also ensure they work for 40 hours every week. They will also handle human resources issues and notify the ministry of any disciplinary and health status of the specialists.
“The counties will ensure that all specialists providing services under the terms of this MoU only practice in national referral hospitals, county government health facilities and collaborating health institutions,” reads the MoU.
Read:
Also read:
CHEAP
A high-end medical specialist in Cuba earns about Sh6,000 every month, compared to about Sh500,000 for Kenyan specialist doctors.
In Cuba, salaries for government jobs average about Sh2,000 per month, augmented by a range of free services and subsidies.
Collaboration with Cuba is likely to become a major strategy in dealing with preventive options in disease management. It could potentially save billions of shillings that go to global pharmaceutical companies each year for treatment — at the cost of growing the economy and delivering shared prosperity to all.
Also see: