Kenya’s doctors’ union has given the government a seven‑day deadline to end a nurses’ strike that has paralysed hospitals in the capital, warning that a failure to resolve the dispute will trigger a mass doctors’ walkout. The ultimatum, announced on Monday, comes as nurses plan a large‑scale demonstration in Nairobi on September 8, raising concerns of a compounded health‑worker shutdown.
Background of the nurses' strike
The nurses’ standoff began in early August over grievances that include delayed salary payments, insufficient hazard allowances and broader concerns about working conditions. The Kenya Nurses and Midwives Union (KNMU) has accused the Ministry of Health of neglecting promised wage adjustments and of failing to honour a 2023 agreement on overtime pay. Negotiations between the union and the ministry have stalled, and the strike has already disrupted services in several public hospitals, prompting patients to seek care in overcrowded private facilities.
Doctors' ultimatum and possible fallout
Representatives of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) said the prolonged nurses’ walkout threatens patient safety and forces doctors to work under untenable conditions. The union issued a statement demanding that the government resolve the nurses’ issues within seven days, after which doctors will commence their own strike.
"We will not allow our colleagues to be exploited; if the situation is not resolved within seven days, we will commence a strike," the union’s spokesperson told the Star.The doctors’ warning is supported by reports that many physicians have been covering for absent nursing staff, leading to increased workloads and fatigue.
The prospect of a doctors’ strike has prompted the Ministry of Health to appeal for calm and to urge both unions to return to the negotiating table. Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe, speaking to the press, said the government remains committed to “finding a lasting solution” but emphasized that any industrial action would jeopardise the lives of thousands of Kenyans who depend on public health services. President William Ruto, who has faced criticism over his handling of public sector wages, has not yet made a direct statement on the doctors’ ultimatum.
According to People Daily, thousands of nurses are expected to take to the streets of Nairobi on September 8, marching from the Kenyatta International Conference Centre to the Ministry of Health. The demonstration is intended to pressure the government into meeting the union’s demands, but it also raises the risk of violent clashes if security forces intervene.
Health experts warn that a combined strike by nurses and doctors could cripple Kenya’s already strained health system, which is grappling with a surge in malaria cases, COVID‑19 resurgence and a backlog of elective surgeries. The World Health Organization has previously highlighted Kenya’s reliance on a limited pool of health professionals, and a prolonged shutdown could reverse recent gains in maternal and child health indicators.
International observers and local civil‑society groups are calling for an expedited, mediated settlement. The Kenya Federation of Trade Unions has offered to act as a neutral broker, while the United Nations Development Programme has urged the government to honour its financial commitments to health workers. With the seven‑day deadline looming, the standoff stands as Kenya’s most pressing domestic crisis, testing the government’s capacity to balance fiscal constraints with the urgent need to maintain essential health services.
