TUKO.co.ke journalist Ivan Mboto has over three years of experience reporting on politics and current affairs in Kenya

A wave of frustration and whistles filled the air outside Afya House on Tuesday, May 13, as healthcare workers under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme staged a protest.

The demonstration, held at the Ministry of Health headquarters in Nairobi, saw dozens of health workers, including clinical officers, lab technicians, public health officers, and community health assistants, block the road leading to Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale’s office.

Waving Kenyan flags, the demonstrators insisted on a face-to-face meeting with the CS, demanding better employment terms and immediate government intervention

For months, the workers have raised concerns over precarious working conditions.

Chief among their grievances are delayed contract renewals, unequal pay, and the failure to transition long-serving staff, some with over five years of service, into permanent and pensionable (PnP) employment.

The group has been on strike since February, significantly disrupting healthcare services in county-level hospitals where most of them are deployed.

In March, they held two separate protests outside Parliament, urging the Senate to intervene and push for a resolution.

In response to the Tuesday protest, Health CS Aden Duale issued a statement reaffirming the government’s commitment to addressing the workers' grievances through dialogue.

"The Ministry is committed to constructive engagement with stakeholders to uphold the integrity and sustainability of the UHC programme," said Duale.

He revealed that a series of consultative meetings had been held, including one on May 6 involving the Ministry of Health, the Council of Governors (CoG), healthcare workers’ unions, and UHC staff representatives.

Another key engagement took place on April 14, co-chaired by CoG Chairperson Governor Ahmed Abdulahi.

As an outcome of these discussions, Duale announced that the management of UHC staff, including payroll and budgetary responsibilities,would officially shift to county governments starting July 1.

"The transition will allow counties to take over the management of UHC staff and streamline human resource practices in line with devolved health services," the statement read.

Additionally, Duale confirmed that UHC workers would transition to permanent and pensionable terms once their current contracts expire in May 2026.

"These contracts, as agreed between individual staff and county governments, remain valid until May 2026. The transition to permanent and pensionable employment will be incorporated into the 2026/27 financial year budget," he added.

The Ministry has since called on the CoG to fast-track the submission of verified UHC staff records to facilitate the preparation of the May 2025 payroll.

In a related development previously covered by , medical interns expressed their gratitude after the government agreed to pay them KSh 206,000, fulfilling a long-standing demand.

The interns presented Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary General Davji Atellah with a symbolic gift for his pivotal role in securing their pay rise. This follows a year of intense negotiations and protests, including the historic 56-day strike in 2024.

During the KMPDU Annual Delegates Conference (ADC) in Mombasa, the interns thanked Atellah for his unwavering support during the strike, recalling moments of doubt when the government insisted on KSh 70,000.

Source: TUKO.co.ke