Health workers threaten to down tools over Quality Care Bill 2025

Kenya Union of Clinical Officers(KUCO) officials led by National Chairman Peterson Wachira(centre) and General Secretary George Gibore(2nd right) addressing the media at Ngong Hills Hotel in Nairobi on Thursday February 20, 2025 accusing the government for locking clinical officers out of the Social Health Authority (SHA).[Boniface Okendo,Standard] Healthcare workers have issued a 14-day ultimatum to the government to address their concerns. If their demands are not met, they will mobilise all cadres for a nationwide strike. This comes after they have strongly opposed the proposed Quality of Care Bill 2025 by the Ministry of Health and Parliament, warning of a nationwide strike if their demands are not met within 14 days. The bill seeks to defund and merge various health associations and unions into a single regulatory body, among other reforms that have been described as detrimental to the healthcare system. The Health Sector Caucus, which represents different health cadres, held a press conference where leaders voiced their grievances. The caucus condemned the bill, stating that it threatens the quality of healthcare services in the country and undermines professional regulation. The proposed merging of regulatory bodies has been met with stiff opposition. Peterson Wachira, National Chairman of the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), criticised the plan, arguing that such mergers have failed in other countries. The proposal being drafted in secrecy, seeking to merge into a single regulatory body has had the healthcare workers rejecting it, questioning why a new regulatory body should be created when they already fall under the Kenya Health Professionals Oversight Authority (KHPOA). "The government claims it lacks funds, so why create another regulatory body instead of restructuring KHPOA to expand its mandate into accreditation and quality of care?" asked Wachira. "We have seen similar models in South Africa, Uganda and Zambia, and they have not worked. In Zambia, their Parliament has even recommended breaking up the merged regulatory body because of inefficiencies and infighting. We cannot afford to make the same mistake here," said Wachira. Healthcare workers insist that individual regulatory bodies are crucial in maintaining high professional standards and peer regulation, which ensures quality service delivery. They fear that merging all health professionals under one body will create confusion and lower the standards of training and practice. Nicholas Odipo, National Chairman of the Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO), accused the government of misleading the public. "The Ministry of Health claims it is defunding these regulatory bodies, but the truth is that these bodies have never received government funding. They operate on their own revenue. So why merge them? This is deception," he said. Another major point of contention is the transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Authority (SHA). Healthcare workers claim that SHA is underperforming despite collecting more money from Kenyans. "There is no substantive leadership at SHA. The CEO and directors are all on secondment, and in two months, their terms will end. The Ministry of Health is directly controlling SHA, which has allowed cartels to thrive," said Wachira. Maurice Opetu, Deputy Secretary General of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), added that SHA is delivering substandard services. "We were promised a better system than NHIF, but what we have is worse. If reforms are not made, Kenyans will suffer even more," he stated. The healthcare workers demand immediate reforms in SHA, including appointing substantive leadership and revising the benefits package to improve service delivery. The absorption of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff into permanent employment is another critical issue. Healthcare workers are demanding Sh 4 billion in the national budget to facilitate this process. "These workers were employed during the UHC pilot in 2020 and have been working under unfair conditions. Some earn half the salary of their colleagues despite doing the same job," said Brown Ashira, General Secretary of the Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Union (KEPHPU). The current budget policy does not provide for their absorption, meaning their contracts will expire by April 2026. Healthcare workers insist that losing these staff would cripple the primary healthcare system in the country. Leaders at the press conference also called out the Ministry of Health for favouring certain cadres while neglecting others. They accused the Director-General of the Ministry of Health of orchestrating discrimination against some healthcare professions. "We cannot have a Director-General who openly discriminates against other health cadres. His job is to ensure fairness and quality healthcare for all, not to serve personal interests. If he continues on this path, we will push for his removal," said Mohamed Duba, Secretary General of the Association of Public Health Officers Kenya (APHOK) and Chairman of the Kenya Health Professional Society (KHPS). "The government should not take this lightly. We are ready to fight for the healthcare sector, and if that means downing our tools, then so be it," said Jevas Kenyanya, President of the Society of Radiography in Kenya (SORK). Healthcare workers have vowed to continue pushing back against policies they consider harmful to the profession and the public. They urge Parliament to reject the Quality of Care Bill 2025 and instead focus on reforms that strengthen the healthcare system.

Health workers threaten to down tools over Quality Care Bill 2025

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