Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary-General Dr. Davji Atella has revealed that the government pays Cuban doctors in the country Ksh1.5 million per month, each.
The doctor who spoke during a panel on Citizen TV on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, raised concerns over the huge pay made to the foreign doctors, while around 2,000 Kenyan medical practitioners are unemployed.
"As a country, we need doctors but we have many of them in Kenya who have done family medicine and other specialisations that can be employed at a lower cost," he said.
KMPDU Sec-Gen Dr. Davji Bhimji Atella addresses the media on july 16, 2021. | Courtesy| Twitter|
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"The Cuban issue is a scam that will be exposed very soon and we will see a different face in the Ministry of Health," he added.
Atella further alleged that the both the national and county governments have been reluctant in supporting Kenyan doctors seeking to further their studies.
"Some doctors who have gone to school are being recalled by some county governments. The universities also have increased school fees.
"For example, University of Nairobi recently increased school fees three-fold. That means, if you are to do masters that was initially Ksh2.5 million, you will have to pay Ksh7 million," he stated.
Atella stated that the government has allocated low budgets to the crisis in the healthcare system, resulting in the unemployment of doctors.
"The government has employed less than 500 workers in the last five years thus people should not expect good services with shortage of workers, lack of equipment’s and medicines in public hospitals," he said.
He noted that resources have been allocated to solve other issues in the country while neglecting healthcare.
"The failure of the government not to invest in healthcare, drives the cost of healthcare making Kenyans not be able to access the services they need ," Atella stated.
"The broken healthcare is a system issue and not a healthcare worker issue…the problem lies on lack of equipment’s and shortage of personnel," he added.
He also noted that everybody has access to emergency health service and one should be able to access the services regardless of whether the hospital is private or public.
In June 2018, the first two batches of 150 doctors arrived in the country, and allocated to various hospitals across the country.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on June 7, 2021, signed a new cooperation agreement with Cuban Minister of Public Health Dr. Jose Angel Portal Miranda that saw 101 more specialist Cuban doctors travel to Kenya.
The initiative is part of a medical exchange programme between Kenya and Cuba.
Kagwe had visited the Caribbean nation to enhance the partnership between the two country's while seeking to improve Kenya’s primary healthcare.
