Kenya Gov't to Import More Cuban Doctors into the Country

The government is planning to import more Cuban doctors into the country, Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki says.

CS Kariuki explains that this would help the government bridge the health human resource gap in the country.

She also points out that the move would also help the Ministry achieve the Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which was recently piloted in four counties.

“We need to be innovative and if it means we bring in more medics then we shall. We will, however, engage the union and not just the doctors but all cadres on the matter,” says Kariuki.

She says the number of patients visiting public hospitals in the counties piloting UHC has significantly increased, hence the need to increase the human resource.

Last year, the government brought in 100 specialist doctors from the Central American nation to work in county hospitals across the country.

CS Kariuki says the new Cuban medics will help implement the malaria vector control project using biolarvicides in eight counties in the Western region.

Others will be deployed to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) for joint projects.

The move is set to raise the number of expatriates working in the Kenyan health sector.

1,019 foreign doctors were licensed to practice in Kenya by the end of March 2018.

358 of them are Americans, 143 from India, while Congo has the highest among African countries with 45.