Dozens of doctors in at least two of Kenya’s 47 counties have gone on strike on Friday over delayed salaries, inadequate personal protective equipment for handling COVID-19 patients, and lack of medical insurance.
Healthcare workers say they have not been given adequate PPEs, but the government has said it has distributed enough.
Doctors working in hospitals under the Nairobi County Government have issued a one week strike notice. Strike starts on the 21st of August 2020.
— Sarah Kimani (@sarahkimani) August 14, 2020
According to the latest information from the Kenyan Ministry of Health, at least 838 health workers have contracted COVID-19 and at least 16 have died.
#CoronaVirusUpdates . Summary pic.twitter.com/t2PVa3czFv
— Ministry of Health (@MOH_Kenya) August 20, 2020
Doctors say the bulk of the deceased is from the Nairobi county which is the epicentre of the disease.
In the video below, Kenya doctors go on strike over delayed salaries:
‘Raising funds for PPEs’
In the same city, a wellwisher has started a fund to buy doctors PPE to help save lives.
On her twitter handle on Wednesday, Moiner Spooner, an editor with Conversation Africa, an independent News and Analysis website, posted a twist to her campaign, she dubbed it 5x5x5, run or walk five kilometres, donate 500 Kenya Shillings that about 5 dollars to a fund to buy Personal Protective Equipment for Kenyan health care workers and then nominate another five people to carry on with the challenge.
“I started to raise funds for PPEs about a month ago, after the death of our first doctor in Kenya from COVID-19. Her name is Dr Lugaliki. Shortly afterwards, about 40 doctors in one of our maternity hospitals were positive for COVID-19. It highlighted that not enough of our health workers were getting the equipment that they needed to protect themselves, and these are people that on the frontlines every day and this is the government’s responsibility. But there have been allegations of corruption which also highlights that even if more money comes….do we know that doctors are going to be protected, so I got in contact with KPMDU who have a COVID fund committee. So all the funds will go directly for doctors on the frontline.”
By the time of filing this report, Moiner had raised just over 75 000 Shillings from 36 people. It could have been better she admits.
“The response has been minimal, I think the reason for this is because have been fed up with the government…but it doesn’t erase that doctors and nurses still need this equipment.”
The fundraiser will run for another two months hoping to meet her target of buying as many PPEs as she can and offering protection to as many healthcare workers as possible.
“We just want to collect a bulk amount, to achieve this I have started what I am calling 555 challenge…raise of course.”
But time is fast running out..so far more than 800 healthcare workers have tested positive for COVID-19, out whom 16 have lost their lives. While Kenya’s Ministry of Health says the high rate of infections is due to lack of adherence to set guidelines on protecting themselves, doctors say the government has neglected them forcing them to improve PPEs.
Dr Thuranira Kaguiria says they will down their tools to demand better working conditions.
