Doctors Stage Protests Outside Health CS’s Office

Doctors Stage Protests Outside Health CS’s Office

Doctors Stage Protests Outside Health CS’s Office

On Monday, February 12, graduate medical professionals protested outside the Ministry of Health Headquarters, located in Afya House in Nairobi, and called for a meeting with Susan Nakhumicha, the Health Cabinet Secretary. Their complaints also include the fact that, despite having graduated and fulfilled other prerequisites, they have not yet been appointed as medical interns.

Medical students headed by Ramesh Saxena, the governor of the University of Nairobi’s Faculty of Health Sciences, joined the graduate doctors. Saxena said that they had joined the demonstrations because the postponement directly affected their graduation date for posting.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) states that medical and dental students are required to participate in a 13-month internship program after graduation. “We believe that by taking part in this nonviolent demonstration, we will be able to ensure that these interns are posted on time and rebuild medical students’ confidence for a better future,” said Saxena.

The National Guidelines for Internship Training of Medical and Dental Officer Interns (2019) contain specifics about the posting process. According to the criteria, interns who successfully complete their training and pass the final exam—regardless of graduation—or who pass the Council’s internship qualifying exams, will be posted within a month.

Additionally, two months after the internship program begins, the interns are expected to begin earning pay. The majority of the graduate doctors were said to have completed their coursework in July 2023, but the Ministry of Education withheld information regarding their assignment.

A similar standoff between graduating doctors and the federal and local governments occurred in December 2022. At the time, CS Nakhumicha ordered that all medical interns be posted in batches starting in January 2023 in order to prevent a walkout.The CS has not yet issued a similar guideline about the graduate doctors who are protesting and looking for internships.

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