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KMPDU lauds Duale for resolving internship crisis without protests

KMPDU lauds Duale for resolving internship crisis without protests
Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists & Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary General Davji Atellah. PHOTO/Davji Atellah(@Davji)/X

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has lauded Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale for what it described as a rare display of decisive leadership in resolving the long-running medical internship crisis.

Speaking in Nairobi on Friday, July 4, 2025, KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atella commended the Ministry of Health for deploying healthcare interns without triggering nationwide protests a first in recent years.

“For the first time, interns were posted without any demonstration. The issue that was affecting doctors, nurses, and clinical officers — where their salaries were slashed by over 70 per cent — has now been rectified. That must be lauded,” Atella said.

He confirmed that medical officer interns are now earning a standard monthly package of Ksh208,000, up from Ksh206,000, following inflationary adjustments. Nurses and clinical officers, he added, are also receiving salaries aligned with official schemes of service.

“That’s because the minister understands his job. The previous ones did not,” he said.

The remarks follow the Ministry’s June 27, 2025, announcement of the posting of 6,484 healthcare interns for the 2025/26 cohort. The group includes doctors, nurses, clinical officers, pharmacists, and dentists, who have been deployed to public health facilities nationwide for supervised training.

Duale ink deal with Japan
The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Aden Duale.PHOTO/@MOH-Kenya/X

Duale on interns

In a separate clarification on X official account, CS Duale stated that the Ksh208,000 monthly pay includes a basic salary of Ksh46,120 and allowances under CSG 9/JG ‘L’.

The praise from KMPDU comes amid ongoing efforts by the Ministry to strengthen labour relations and streamline reforms in the health sector.

On July 2, 2025, Duale held a high-level meeting with officials from the Kenya Union of Nurses (KNUN) and Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), reaffirming government plans to transition eligible UHC staff to permanent and pensionable terms.

Duale said funds had already been secured for the transition, with a joint payroll verification exercise set to begin this month.

“This will reconcile payrolls and guide the signing of the Return-to-Work Formula in August,” he said.

He also urged union support for the Quality Healthcare and Patient Safety Bill, 2025, a proposed law aimed at anchoring reforms under Vision 2030 and the government’s agenda on the health sector.

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