CS Aden Duale announces end to routine license renewals for foreign medics

KENYA—The Kenyan Ministry of Health has unveiled a new policy framework that places the licensing and deployment of qualified Kenyan health practitioners at the forefront before considering routine licensing of foreign doctors and healthcare professionals.

This strategic shift addresses mounting concerns about regulatory compliance and workforce development in the country’s healthcare sector.

The Ministry identified a troubling pattern where certain individuals attempt to register for practice in Kenya despite lacking proper recognition, good standing, or valid licensure in their home countries.

International regulatory standards, including guidelines from the World Health Organization and global professional councils, mandate that host countries must protect patient safety by preventing such practices and addressing professional misconduct.

Dr. Lukoye W’Atwoli, a Professor in Psychiatry at The Aga Khan University, provided compelling statistics that challenge common narratives about foreign practitioners in Kenya.

As of the end of 2025, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists’ Council licensed a total of 13,328 medical practitioners to work in Kenya during 2026.

Among these healthcare professionals, 12,717 hold Kenyan citizenship while only 611 are foreign nationals granted temporary licenses under Cap 253 of Kenyan law.

These figures reveal that 95.4% of all licensed medical doctors practicing in Kenya are Kenyan citizens, with foreign practitioners representing just 4.6% of the total workforce.

The breakdown of the 611 foreign practitioners with temporary licenses shows 290 specialists, 53 senior registrars, 33 registrars, and 235 general practitioners.

Dr. W’Atwoli emphasized that less than 1.8% of licensed doctors in Kenya are foreign non-specialist doctors, questioning whether these practitioners truly distort the employment market for Kenyan doctors.

He suggested that the focus on foreign doctors appears to be a misdirection from the fundamental problems facing human resources for health in Kenya.

The core issue lies with the main employers of doctors in Kenya—the national and county governments, along with faith-based hospitals—who consistently fail to employ the number of doctors the country actually needs.

Despite repeated acknowledgment by all health stakeholders that the need remains huge, recruitment and deployment figures continue to disappoint.

Dr. W’Atwoli argued that this problem requires these employers to increase resources allocated toward human resources for health and recruit all highly specialized health workers, including doctors, who currently search for employment opportunities.

Cabinet Secretary Hon. Aden Duale highlighted the significant public investment Kenya has made in training healthcare professionals.

The Government has channeled substantial resources from Kenyan taxpayers into training doctors, nurses, clinical officers, and specialists at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

This investment justifies the prioritization of local healthcare workers in employment opportunities.

Hon. Duale emphasized that this policy position aligns with international best practice, with more than 200 licenses belonging to foreign doctors having been revoked, according to the Daily Nation.

The International Labour Organization and the World Health Organization consistently support the principle that countries should prioritize employment opportunities for their own qualified health workforce as part of national workforce planning, sustainability, and health system resilience.

He noted that no country worldwide has successfully developed a sustainable health system relying primarily on foreign health workers.

The Ministry clarified that this policy does not affect countries within the East African Community region.

Kenya maintains its commitment to regional integration and continues to honor reciprocal recognition agreements within the EAC framework, which facilitates mutual recognition of qualifications and regulated professional mobility among partner states.

Moving forward, the Ministry will continue reviewing applications from foreign practitioners on a case-by-case basis, strictly guided by national interest.

Priority consideration will only apply where a demonstrable skills gap exists, particularly in highly specialized or emerging fields where local capacity remains unavailable or needs strengthening, and where such engagement supports local knowledge transfer and system improvement.