Health Cabinet Secretary Adan Duale has committed to resolving the ongoing concerns of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff within three weeks.
Addressing protesting healthcare workers outside Afya House on Tuesday, April 1, Duale pledged to engage all relevant stakeholders to find solutions to their longstanding grievances. "I want to assure all Kenyans and key stakeholders that the Social Health Authority and UHC will work," Duale said during his first official engagement after taking over from former CS Deborah Barasa. "I have no other priority except aligning things at the Ministry of Health." The healthcare workers from different counties have been staging regular protests since mid-February, demanding the fulfillment of promises made when they were initially hired.
Many were recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic to address critical staffing shortages in the healthcare system.
Duale acknowledged the two main concerns raised by UHC staff representatives, conversion to permanent and pensionable terms, and payment of gratuity. .Keep ReadingHealth Ministry shake-ups raise hard questions on UHC rolloutKMA faults health leadership shakeup, urges stability in ministry"I have asked your leaders to give me three weeks to consult with county governments, the National Treasury, Parliament, and the President," he said. "We must find a solution because there is no problem that cannot be solved." The protesting workers, who had camped outside Afya House following weeks of strikes, are seeking equality in pay with their permanently employed colleagues despite performing identical workloads.
