The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union are now demanding for non-renewal of contracts between Kenya and Cuba once the contract lapses in June this year.
In a submission to the Senate Health Committee, the union further demands that a report of cost analysis be provided and all Kenyan medics employed before importing the foreign doctors.
Kenya signed a health agreement with Cuba in 2017 that actualized an exchange programme where Cuban doctors would come into the country to help fill the gap in county hospitals while Kenyan doctors were sent to Cuba for specialized training.
The agreement saw the first batch of 53 family doctors and 47 specialists arrive in the country before an additional 20 specialists arrived in July 2020 to help in the fight against Covid-19.
“We should not overlook the potential of our own healthcare graduates who have been trained in our universities and and understand our healthcare system,” Atellah said.
“Instead of relying on foreign doctors, we should focus on training and recruiting our own healthcare workers,” he added.
According to their submissions, they have argued that 50 per cent of the Cuban doctors are family medicine specialists, a course currently being offered by local universities including Kenyatta, Moi and Nairobi.
They have further revealed that Kenyan doctors who go for training in Cuba have to undertake two years of training in Kenya so as to be cleared by the medical council to practice as family doctors.
This comes barely a month after Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki dismissed the possibility of ending the contract with Cuban doctors any time soon.
The governor who is also the chairperson of the Health Committee at the Council of Governors said the Cuban doctors are complementing the local doctors and not competing with them.
He further noted that Cuban doctors are disciplined and discharge their mandate as they are always in the facilities when they are required.
“We cannot be talking about withdrawing them at the moment because as counties we don’t pay for them,” Njuki said.
According to the governor, even though the local doctors are allowed to work in their own facilities after their working hours, it results in the problem of efficiency as some end up not showing up to work as they are busy elsewhere.
