HRW blames state of health care in Kenya on corruption

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Amid a two-month nationwide doctors' strike, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has blamed the poor state of the health sector in Kenya on "massive corruption" in a statement released Monday.

Kenyan doctors are demanding a 300 percent pay raise and better working conditions negotiated under a 2013 collective bargaining agreement in a strike that has entered its 63rd day.

“Doctors allege that access to healthcare in Kenya has seriously deteriorated due to massive corruption in the sector,” HRW said in a statement.

“Evidence favors their argument: In 2016, a leaked internal audit report revealed that top officials in the Ministry of Health stole more than KES 5 Billion (almost US$50 million) during the 2015/2016 financial year,” HRW added.

The strike, which has been ruled illegal by the industrial and labour court, has sometimes forced Kenyans into seeking treatment in expensive private hospitals.

HRW has called on the government to end the strike.

"The government should protect Kenyans’ rights to health and life, and work with doctors to reach a solution," said the group.