Health workers are risking it all for us, take care of them

Kenya has lost the first doctor to coronavirus and this demonstrates that nobody is immune. The death of any citizen is too much bear, but the death of a front line worker is akin to exposing a soldier to a hail of enemy bullets in a war.

Health workers are our last line of defence once every other intervention against the pandemic has failed. We cannot approach their plight with a casual attitude. The national and county governments must change tack urgently.

Since the first case of Covid-19 was detected in Kenya, health workers have been crying for care from the parental authority. They have begged for safe personal protective equipment, risk allowances and increase in the workforce to reduce the workload they grapple with daily. While some counties have tried to look in to their plight for others, it is business as usual.

Kenyans hoped that Covid-19 could teach our leaders a thing or two about public health and make situation change for the better. But it seems that chance is slipping away. When the pandemic struck, there were calls for safe houses where health workers could be accommodated to keep them and their loved ones safe. Were they ever set up?

For three months, the health sector has received funding to improve the situation and interventions, but this does not seem to be trickling down to where it is intended. Reports of drinks worth millions of shillings do not inspire confidence.

County governments have joined their bigger brother in maintaining the status quo. What Kenyans worry about is what would happen if health workers decide to leave them to their own devices because cannot take it anymore.

The government has the final authority and the same way it ensures leaders are protected from harm, it must also ensure that the common citizen is safe from this faceless enemy, by sufficiently taking care of health workers.

Ordinary citizens cannot afford five-star healthcare in private hospitals. What works for them are the run-down public facilities whose workers are now in grave danger. They must be assured of safety, not through mere words but deliberate actions which must start with not only ensuring public healthcare is working, but also that health workers are cared for and are safe.