- The 100 Cuban doctors will arrive in the country on May 28 and work for two years.
- The national government and counties will share the costs of having the 100 Cuban doctors who will arrive later this month.
- Counties will cater for their local transport expenses while the national government will pay their air fare to and from Cuba among other benefits.
Kenya pulls off all stops to make Cuban doctors feel at home including offering fully paid holidays
The 100 Cuban doctors will arrive in the country on May 28 and work for two years.
The Council of Governors and Ministry of Health on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the hiring of Cuban doctors.
A memorandum signed by Kenya and Cuba shows each county will get at least two doctors.
The 100 Cuban doctors, who will arrive in the country on May 28, will work for two years with the health ministry paying their salaries.
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Speaking after the signing, Anne Waiguru, the deputy chair the Council of Governors (CoG), said the 53 family physicians and 47 specialists would be “provided with an enabling environment to do their work”.
The national government and counties will share the costs of having the 100 Cuban doctors who will arrive later this month.
Here is what county and national government means by “providing an enabling environment to Cuban doctors to do their work”
The doctors will be offered furnished homes, airfares for holidays, paid utilities and transport on top of their salaries.
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Governors will also be expected to provide the specialists with accommodation, furniture, kitchen appliances, kitchen utensils and pay for their utilities like electricity, water and cooking gas.
Counties will cater for their local transport expenses while the national government will pay their air fare to and from Cuba when serving their 30 day annual leave.
The Ministry of Health and the CoG did not divulge the Cuban doctors pay. However, it is estimated to be far above what local doctors earn.
“The thing is county governments only offer what we have been tasked with in the MOU, the rest is done as per the bilateral agreement with the Government of Cuba and the Kenyan government,” said Marsabit governor Mohamed Mohamud.
Kenya’s doctor-to-patient ratio is one to 16,000, according to official data, far below a recommendation of the U.N. World Health Organization of one to 1,000.
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The government says doctors in far-flung hospitals lack specialized skills, forcing patients to pay to travel to the capital Nairobi or abroad for treatment.
CS Kariuki said that 50 graduate students will also leave the country for a two-year post graduate training in Cuba.
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