A Lion used to prowl about a field in which four Oxen used to dwell. Many a time he tried to attack them; but whenever he came near they turned their tails to one another, so that whichever way he approached them he was met by the horns of one of them.
At last, however, they started quarrelling among themselves, and each went off to pasture alone in a separate corner of the field. Then the Lion attacked them one by one and soon made an end of all Four.
According to the Constitution, every Kenyan has a right to “the highest attainable standard of health which includes the right to health care services.” Today, a good number of Kenyans cannot access this right due to the crisis in the health sector.
This comes after health workers in 12 counties issued a statement saying they will not be attending to work scheduled as of April 19, due to the non-payment of their previous month's salaries and statutory deductions
The unions said the health workers are in a difficult financial situation and “as a result, they are unable to meet their daily needs, including transportation, food and accommodation expenses”.
The health workers are drawn from Kisumu, Mombasa, Nyamira, Kisii, Murang’a, Nyeri, Laikipia, Bomet, Nyamira, Embu, Vihiga and Taita Taveta.
Health workers have a right to industrial action and we must do everything possible to listen, act on their demands and get them back to work as soon as possible. Already, patients are suffering after nurses and clinical officers downed their tools. We cannot allow the situation to escalate.
We can also not continue with the blame game that we have witnessed in the last couple of weeks. We cannot allow ourselves to believe that anyone is blameless or another has to be blamed more.
A lot of blame has gone to the national government and especially the Ministry of Health. But we should also remember that health is a devolved function and therefore county governments must work hard to resolve the issues.
The two levels of government should also be proactive by engaging the health workers’ unions when developing policies and laws, both at the national and county levels. This will help in ensuring that there is inclusion when the policies are formulated ensuring that they are acceptable to all players.
The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union has accused counties of using healthcare workers to bargain with the national government for resources they use for other purposes.
And while industrial action is recognised by our Constitution, it is also important that all workers also respect the rights of others. In particular health workers should recognise that they have a duty to ensure that patients, young and old, in the country, are taken care of.
Overall, our health services must be improved, with better pay and conditions for healthcare professionals and a higher standard of care and treatment for patients.
Our public health facilities are stifled by inadequate management, insufficient medical supplies and poor procurement procedures.
The country’s healthcare policy should expand the affordability, quality, and availability of private and public health insurance through consumer protections, regulations, subsidies, taxes and insurance exchanges.
Just recently, the national and county governments agreed to jointly support community health workers in recognition of the critical role they play in advancing universal health coverage.
The community health workers, who will now be known as community health promoters, will be co-sponsored by the two levels of government even as health remains a devolved function.
This means that the two levels of government can actually come up with solutions that are needed to ensure that a protracted health crisis is averted going forward. An urgent meeting between the governments and the health workers is needed.
All parties should get to the table and come up with workable agreements that can help ensure all Kenyans get the highest level of health services. They can then come up with a workable plan to ensure that the dues are settled progressively as health workers continue with their work.
