Principal Secretary (PS) for Public Health and Professional Standards Mary Muthoni has clarified that Kenyan nurses are not being forced to work abroad.
PS Muthoni set the record straight on Monday evening on TV47’s Daily Report hosted by senior political anchor George Maringa.
“We are producing enough graduates (nurses) every year. This is to ensure we absorb them locally and when we have excess we can send them abroad. Sometimes you don’t have to force people to work either locally or abroad. It’s a personal choice,” she explained.
The senior health official went on to encourage nurses to apply for diaspora job opportunities to bridge the unemployment gap.
“We have enough human capital and I encourage our nurses to apply for opportunities both locally and internationally. Currently, we have 2,500 vacancies in Saudi Arabia,” Muthoni stated.
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She observed that the growing number of people who want to join the profession was pushing government to seek jobs around the world.
‘Overproducing’ graduates
Last year alone, according to PS Muthoni, over 40,000 Kenyans sent applications hoping to join Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC).
However, the institution only had a capacity to take in 12,000 fresh year students, locking out more than half of the applicants.
Earlier last month, Kenya signed a health partnership agreement with the United Kingdom (UK) that will see a total of 20,000 nurses sent to UK hospitals by 2025.
This follows the Bilateral Labour Agreement (BLA) signed between Kenya and the UK in July 2022 by former President Uhuru Kenyatta and former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Nurses move to the UK
In 2023, 76 Kenyan nurses left the country to work in the UK after being selected from 701 applicants.
The debate comes against the backdrop of an ongoing strike by doctors over delays in posting of medical interns and promotions in that field.
Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) vowed to moblise doctors to down their tolls next Monday should the government remain mum to their concerns.
Senior health unions’ officials will today (Tuesday) be having a meeting with the Ministry of Health on the same.
