President Uhuru's Move to Import Doctors from Cuba Angers Kenyans Online

President Kenyatta has announced that Kenya will import 100 doctors from Cuba to bolster health gaps in county medical facilities and advance the health sector.

The move comes after his three-day official state visit to the Caribbean nation, where he sought cooperation in health, sports and culture.

Each of the 47 counties in Kenya will get two Cuban doctors, while 50 medics from Kenya will travel to the Caribbean country for specialised training.

“Cuban experts will come into Kenya within the next few weeks, and working hand-in-hand with their Kenyan counterparts, will roll out a range of medical interventions that will radically change how we manage a large number of life-threatening diseases,” a statement from State House read.

“Collaboration with Cuba is likely to become a major strategy in how Kenya deals with the preventive options in disease management, with a keen eye on saving billions of shillings that go to global pharmaceutical majors each year for treatment,” the statement added.

"#Cuba to second doctors to #Kenya . #Big4ActionPlan #AffordableHealthcare for all. #KenyaCubaRelations | @CubaMINREX @ForeignOfficeKE," President Kenyatta said in a tweet.

However, Kenyans on Twitter expressed their anger over the move to import the medics from Cuba.

Many who commented on President Uhuru's tweet questioned why the country would hire doctors from abroad, while several trained medical practitioners in the country remained unemployed.

Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Chairperson Dr. Ouma Oluga said: "Mr. President, we have absolutely no problem with imported doctors but kindly absorb the hard working Kenyans who invested heavily to study medicine, dentistry or pharmacy with the hope of serving Kenya's understaffed health system. They are 1000 of them and they aren't employed."

@sha_songol noted: "gov esp jubilee leaders have no trust in its people. they underpay, overwork , frustrate, politicize, trivialize their concerns & blame them for inefficiencies. #Big4ActionPlan will be a mirage with same mentality."

@mos_qo remarked: " Government is hellbent on privatizing public healthcare! We know. 1500 unemployed Kenyan doctors for the last 1 yr, another 1200 joining them soon but we are better off with Spanish speaking Cubans? Tano Terror."

@hamidnoor said: "@UKenyatta does not know that kenya has universities that Train Doctors..... They built a statue of his Dad in exchange for Employment For the unemployed cuban doctors....."

@fankuzat noted:"This is another scandal in waiting. Kenya has got enough health workforce all that is needed is adequate resource allocation and facilitation of clinical research."

@SimlawSimiyu commented:"You mean Cuba to 'send' doctors to Kenya?
Hiyo pesa watalipwo ndio ingeajiri vijanaa wa Kenya. Absorb our own first."

@feli_maina said: " You have unemployed citizens and poorly paid citizens but it is better to pay a foreigner?"

@NyandoroVincent noted:" We finished internship, we are out here jobless and suffering but you want to employ doctors from cuba. What a shame!"