Thousands of sick citizens, like the proverbial grass that suffers when two elephants fight, wait in despair as the doctors union and the government squabble about a contentious labour deal.
Today the strike enters day 35 during which time public hospitals have been effectively shut down.
And to make matters worse, only disheartening self-serving brinkmanship, instead of hope, seems to come from the two discordant parties.
What the doctors and government fail to realise is that the sick and dying do not care about who is right and who is wrong. All the public wants is a solution that will get doctors back to hospital.
The disheartening militant attitude will have long-lasting damaging effects beyond the deaths and the pain that the strike will bring about.
Public confidence in our hospitals will suffer a major setback. The reputation of the Kenya Kwanza administration as a government that cares will have gone up in smoke.
Young doctors will no doubt be disillusioned about the working environment and find jobs abroad.
The two parties must come to the realisation that their stalemate is ruining lives and even livelihoods.
Their pig-headed approach to negotiation is a matter of life and death to the millions of families that cannot afford private medical care.
Quote of the Day: “Sympathy is no substitute for action.”
David Livingstone
The body of the physician and explorer arrived home in Southampton on April 16, 1874
