KENYA — Kenya’s government has decided not to renew a 6-year-old deal that brought Cuban doctors to the country while sending Kenyan medical professionals to Cuba for specialized training.
The move, which was met with applause, marks the end of a controversial program criticized for paying Cuban doctors significantly higher salaries than their Kenyan counterparts.
Critics argued that the funds could be better spent on improving Kenya’s medical infrastructure and supporting local doctors.
Under the 2017 agreement, 50 Kenyan medical professionals were sent to Cuba for specialized training, while 100 Cuban doctors were dispatched to county-level hospitals in Kenya to help enhance healthcare services.
This decision was heavily criticized by legislators and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union, which viewed it as a wasteful allocation of resources, especially when Kenya had unemployed doctors and limited medical equipment and facilities.
According to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, Cuban doctors were paid monthly salaries of approximately US$5,300, while Kenyan doctors in similar roles earned between US$1,600 and US$2,300.
In addition to higher salaries, the Cuban doctors received better travel and housing allowances.
Kenya faces a significant healthcare worker shortage, as highlighted in a study published by the World Health Organization.
While the country is among the top six in Africa with the highest concentration of health workers, it still falls short of the WHO’s recommended health worker-to-population ratio.
The study revealed that Africa as a whole has a shortage of health workers, with Kenya’s ratio being far below the threshold needed to provide essential health services and achieve universal health coverage.
Kenya’s Ministry of Health reported a substantial shortage of various medical professionals, including medical officers, consultants, dentists, public health officers, pharmacists, and more.
The shortage extends to community health workers, lab technicians, and other health cadres, indicating a pressing need for workforce expansion.
Africa, in general, faces a severe shortage of health workers, with the continent having only 1.55 health workers per 1000 people, well below the WHO threshold of 4.45 health workers per 1000 people required for essential health services and universal health coverage.
The health worker deficit in Africa is attributed to several factors, including inadequate training capacity, rapid population growth, international migration, governance issues, career changes, and poor retention of health personnel.
The WHO projects that Africa’s health worker shortage will increase by 45% by 2030, reaching 6.1 million.
The severe shortage of health workers in Africa has significant implications for healthcare delivery and addressing various health challenges.
To address the issue, African countries must invest significantly in building the health workforce, increase training and recruitment, and implement measures to improve the deployment and retention of health workers.
The shortage of health workers in Africa has far-reaching implications for tackling healthcare challenges, including maternal and infant mortality, infectious diseases, non-communicable illnesses, and basic services like vaccination.
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