Foreign doctors and medical colleges to be vetted to root out quack doctors

Health CS Aden Duale during the launch of the Kenya National Public Health Institute (KNPHI) at KICC Nairobi on May 8, 2025. [Boniface Okendo, Standard] In its plan to crack down on quacks in the health sector, the government will re-vet and re-license all medical training colleges and foreign doctors operating in the country. Health Cabinet Secretary Ade Duale said the exercise to root out mushrooming substandard medical colleges and local and foreign quacks in the health sector will start this week. The decision to vet foreign doctors operating in Kenya, according to Duale, was following reports that some of them have been deregistered in their countries. Duel said institutions that have exceeded the admission capacity, commercialised training of doctors and lack of internship facilities will be de-registered. "We are seeing the effects of unregulated expansion in training institutions, some of which admit over four times their capacity. This threatens the quality and integrity of our healthcare system," said Duale. The CS said that only foreign doctors providing humanitarian services will be allowed to operate in Kenya to curb the commercialisation of basic health services. He spoke in Mombasa during the Kenya Medical, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) annual delegates conference. The CS said that the ministry's and KMPDU's digitisation will eliminate local and foreign quacks who have infiltrated the profession. "We know of some institutions given a capacity of 50 but have over 200. This threatens the standard of healthcare givers," said Duale. The CS said that, except for foreign doctors involved in humanitarian aid, the ministry will de-register all other foreign doctors. He said that their regulatory bodies have cancelled practising licences of some of the foreign doctors working in Kenya. Duale said the country has enough doctors already trained and ready for the job market. He said his office will work with counties to expand internship centres and achieve equitable deployment. Duale admitted that delayed postings, inadequate supervision, and oversupply from some institutions are all part of a broken pipeline. The CS said 1,035 medical officer interns and 83 dental officer interns were last week successfully balloted for internship placements. Further, he noted that 503 pharmacists' interns will begin their rotations in July 2025. The CS said the government paid Sh1.75 billion to settle debt owed to medical practitioners under the Return-to-Work formula and that the government will settle the balance next financial year. He said the ministry has begun remitting tuition payments for doctors in training. Duale said the ministry has recommended sponsorship of 93 doctors seeking master's degree programmes at various universities at a total cost of Sh142,191,456. He said the Ministry has already disbursed Sh73,826,182 as tuition fees for the first cohort of 54 doctors, and payment for the remaining 39 doctors is currently being processed. The CS promised to forward proposals to Parliament and the President and Governors to have doctors and all civil servants' statutory contributions deducted at source by the treasury to eliminate the delays and lockout of health services, including the Social Health Authority (SHA). KMPDU chairman Dr Abidan Mwachi asked the government to deal with the doctor deficit in the country, which he said is hurting the health sector. Dr Mwachi also hinted at a strike in Kiambu, Trans Nzoia, Kisumu, Lamu, Kajiado, Laikipia, and Nakuru counties, saying the governors of those counties have failed to address the plight of medics. "These counties listed have issues of remitting statutory deductions, salary areas, and other remuneration matters to their healthcare employees. We are giving dialogue a chance before the strike that has been called off," said Dr Mwachi. Jbwana@standardmedia.co.ke

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