Public health officers protest as 92-day strike raises Ebola surveillance concerns

Health officials screen travellers and disinfect their hands at the Busia One-Stop Border Post on the Kenya-Uganda border on October 12, 2026. [AFP]

Public health officers have called on the government to urgently resolve their grievances and end their 92-day nationwide strike, warning that their continued absence from work could undermine efforts to detect and prevent infectious diseases as Kenya records its ninth Ebola case.

The officers took to the streets of Nairobi on Wednesday, demanding the signing of Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), employment of more public health officers and payment of interns who are yet to receive their stipends.

They also want the government to increase the number of public health officers deployed at border screening points to strengthen surveillance and enable early detection of infectious diseases entering the country.

The protesters marched from Green Park Terminus towards the Ministry of Health, calling for urgent intervention to end the prolonged labour dispute.

Carol Macharia, Deputy Secretary General of the Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Union (KEHPHPU), said public health officers were the first point of contact for communities and played a critical role in identifying and responding to health risks.

“We are asking the government to listen to the public health officers. We are the people who understand what the community is going through because we are their first contact,” she said.

Macharia said the union was ready to engage the government to resolve the dispute and allow its members to resume duty.

“We are therefore calling on the government to come to the table; let us have a sit-down and talk. We want to go back to work, but it's like the government doesn't want us to work,” she said.

She warned that the prolonged strike was exposing Kenyans to infectious diseases and called for the government to address the officers' outstanding demands.

“Us being out of work is exposing Kenyans to very infectious diseases and also our interns deserve their stipends,” she said.

KEHPHPU Vice Chair Juma Maelo said increasing the number of public health officers at border screening points was essential to identifying infectious diseases early and preventing their spread.

“We want the government to enhance the number of public health officers at the borders, screening borders. This way we can be able to detect infectious diseases such as Ebola early because that is what we are trained to do,” he said.

“Ebola is not curable but preventable and we can help do that.”

Maelo said public health officers had the expertise needed to strengthen disease surveillance but required adequate staffing and government support to carry out their responsibilities.

Meanwhile, KEHPHPU National Treasurer Mohamed Aki called for increased funding for preventive health services, alongside the employment and deployment of public health officers who have completed their training.

“We are here to protect our Kenyan citizens. We want proper funding for preventive health, our interns need to be posted and be paid by the Ministry of Health, and we want employment at the Ministry of Health,” he said.

The union is also demanding a review of risk allowances for public health officers and minimum wages for community health promoters, arguing that the government must address the outstanding labour issues before normal operations can resume.

The demonstration comes as Kenya grapples with rising Ebola cases, putting renewed focus on the importance of disease surveillance, border screening and preventive health services.

The officers want the government to engage the union and reach an agreement that will allow them to return to work and resume their role in protecting communities from public health threats.