The Kenyan authorities declared this Wednesday the termination of a contentious six-year association with Cuba.
Initiated in 2017, this program facilitated the employment of Cuban medical professionals in Kenya, whereas concurrently sending Kenyan medical doctors to Cuba for specialised coaching periods.
Wage hole sparks dissatisfaction
A big level of discord was the substantial wage disparity between Cuban and Kenyan medical doctors underneath this program.
The Cuban individuals garnered greater than double the typical wage allotted to their Kenyan friends.
Opponents constantly argued that the monetary sources allotted for the Cuban medical doctors’ salaries can be extra successfully utilized if invested in enhancing Kenya’s medical infrastructure and compensating its indigenous medical workforce.
Ministerial announcement acquired positively
In a public deal with in Nairobi, Well being Minister Nakumicha Wafula formally introduced the discontinuation of the Kenya-Cuba medical collaboration, eliciting applause and affirmative acclamations from the attendant well being trade representatives.
Wafula dedicated to prioritizing the welfare of the nationwide well being workforce within the post-Cuba deal period.
Particulars of the deal
The 2017 settlement enabled 50 Kenyan medical doctors to pursue specialised coaching in Cuba, whereas 100 Cuban medical doctors have been stationed at varied county hospitals throughout Kenya to fortify the availability of medical providers.
This bilateral initiative, nevertheless, was not universally well-received, encountering criticism from legislative members and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union from its inception.
Union opposition and criticism
The union expressed its disapproval of this system, characterizing it as a misguided allocation of sources, particularly in a state of affairs the place quite a few Kenyan medical doctors and specialists have been grappling with unemployment.
They advocated for the redirected use of the funds, earmarked for the Cuban medical doctors’ salaries, in direction of the hiring of Kenyan medical personnel and procurement of essential medical equipment for home hospitals typically working underneath useful resource constraints.
Monetary disparities highlighted
In keeping with Kenya’s Salaries and Remuneration Fee, a Cuban physician underneath this system acquired a month-to-month remuneration of roughly $5,300. In distinction, a Kenyan physician in an equal place earned between $1,600 and $2,300.
Moreover, the Cuban medical doctors have been beneficiaries of superior journey and housing allowances, additional widening the compensation hole.
Experiences are that medical doctors and nurses in Kenya have typically gone on strike demanding higher pay and dealing circumstances.
