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Out of the frying pan into the fire. This explains the situation in the healthcare sector. If there were to be a strategic plan for just one year, 2025 would be the defining year when the government will address the inherent challenges pulling the sector back.

More than any other sector, health has been hit by numerous labour upheavals. The latest strike threat is from clinical officers over unresolved issues, coming against the backdrop of yet another labour action called off by the doctor’s union.

Clinical officers issued a 14-day strike notice over what they described as ‘blatant discrimination’ against them by the Social Health Authority (SHA), which excluded them from offering services under its framework.

Whereas these industrial strikes look to continue, the delivery of high-quality healthcare to Kenyans has been hampered by a number of factors that the government knows well about.

These include inadequate infrastructure, a lack of sufficient medical workers, an absence of critical medical supplies, and problems with governance. Sixty years after independence, this should not be happening, as citizens dutifully pay their taxes.

It has been argued that devolution disrupted better healthcare services. But this does not hold, as management incompetence still reigns. The main challenges noted in the post-devolution era include inadequate resources or funds from the national government and understaffed health facilities. But is this the real problem?

No

It’s the lethargy of healthcare managers and graft in various agencies. Billions of shillings, for example, have been lost at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA). Pledges to address corruption have remained just that – promises.

When clinical officers, an integral part of the health workforce, threaten to down their tools, a responsible government should not waste time. It should instead move with speed and find a middle ground and not let the matter escalate to a point where patients continue suffering.

Some of these issues should not take long to address for a competent government. Take, for example, what clinical officers are claiming about their exclusion from SHA, which they say stems from the government’s refusal to recognise health facilities and practitioners registered and licensed by the Clinical Officers Council.

The government must address these issues quickly and appropriately to avert further crisis.