The Kenya Medical Association has faulted the establishment of the Presidential taskforce to address human resource challenges in the Health sector and called for the establishment of a Health Service Commission in its stead.
In a statement on Monday, KMA Secretary General Dr Diana Marion said the Human Resources for Health (HRH) taskforce's mandate is already being undertaken by other constitutional bodies.
“KMA advises directing efforts towards strengthening existing regulatory bodies and establishing a Health Service Commission,” Dr Marion said.
President William Ruto on Saturday caused the establishment of a 20-member HRH taskforce and mandated it to audit health resources.
He named Khama Rogo as the chairperson and Judith Guserwa as the vice chairperson.
Formation of the task force was recommended after doctors signed a Return to Work Formula (RTWF) that ended their 56-day strike.
In a Gazette notice, Ruto said the task force was necessary to formulate comprehensive strategies and policies to enhance the healthcare workforce.
But Dr Marion said the Health Human Resource Advisory Council (KHHRAC) and the Kenya Health Professions Oversight Authority (KΗΡΟΑ) are already undertaking the mandate tasked to the Khama Rogo team.
She said KHHRAC reviews policies and establishes standards for posting interns, inter-county transfers of healthcare professionals and handles welfare and schemes of service for health professionals.
She said the body also manages and rotates specialists besides maintaining a master register for all health practitioners in counties.
Dr Marion was, however, quick to point out that the KHHRAC's role is advisory in nature and may not fully address systemic HRH challenges.
KHPOA on the other hand, Dr Marion said, maintains a duplicate register of all health professionals, promotes and regulates inter-professional liaison coordinates joint inspections as well and resolves complaints from patients and regulatory bodies.
She said the body is also mandated to monitor regulatory bodies, arbitrate disputes among regulatory bodies and ensure that necessary standards for health professionals are upheld.
“Given the mandates of KHHRAC and KHPOA, the establishment of a Presidential taskforce is deemed ultra vires (beyond one's legal power or authority) and duplicates the roles of both,” she pointed out.
While emphasising the need for the formation of a Health Service Commission, Dr Marion said similar recommendations have been made as the best way to address human resources challenges in the health sector.
She listed the Musyimi Task Force Report of 2012, the Ministry of Health Report of 2019, the Kericho Declaration on Human Resources for Health of October 2023, the Health Labour Market Analysis for Kenya of 2023 and the Ministry of Health Human Resources for Health Policy.
The SG recommendations were also made during the Constitution-making process of 2004-2010 and were included in the draft Constitution until the final stages and a draft HSC bill proposed in 2012.
“On June 21, 2020, KMA recommended the creation of a constitutional HSC to the BBI technical committee. Paragraph 164 of the BBI Report supports transferring human resourcing to an HSC while retaining health as a devolved function,” Dr Marion said.
According to KMA, once established the HSC will among other things register all health workers in the country and set standards for training, recruitment, remuneration and codes of conduct for the workers.
The doctors’ body also says an HSC will take over the recruitment and deployment of health workers within the public service on a need basis, rationalise and standardise remuneration and ensure health workers adhere to a code of conduct and discipline.
