Aasai

Kenya’s healthcare system is in complete turmoil. The ongoing nationwide strike by Universal Health Coverage (UHC) medics and other healthcare workers has crippled services, leaving Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 hospitals across the country completely shut down. Millions of Kenyans are now helpless, trapped in a health catastrophe with nowhere to turn.

Desperate Mothers, Dying Patients: A Nation in Pain In remote villages, expectant mothers are suffering the worst. Without access to public hospitals, they are forced to travel for miles to reach private clinics—if they can even afford them. Many don’t make it in time. "I had to watch my sister bleed uncontrollably because we couldn’t reach the nearest private hospital in time. She lost her baby on the way," laments Amina Yusuf, a distressed resident of Garissa.

The sick, the elderly, and accident victims are also left stranded. In Nairobi’s informal settlements, the situation is no better. John Mwangi, a boda boda rider from Kibera, recounts his horror: "I rushed my wife to Mbagathi Hospital at midnight, only to find the gates closed. We had no money for a private hospital, so we just sat there praying she wouldn’t die. Is this the Universal Health Coverage we were promised?"

A Government Deaf to the Cry of Its People Meanwhile, the Kenya Kwanza government remains disturbingly silent. Where are the leaders who swore to serve the people? Do they not see the pain of the ordinary mwananchi? While ministers and politicians enjoy state-funded medical care, the common Kenyan is left to suffer and die.

"We are tired of lies! We were promised a working healthcare system, yet today, we are being told to fend for ourselves," cries Beatrice Otieno, a frustrated mother whose asthmatic child was turned away from Kenyatta National Hospital.

Broken Promises, Broken Lives The very backbone of the health sector—UHC medics—are on a go-slow, and in reality, they are not at work. Their message is clear: they will only return after their long-overdue gratuity is paid and their employment terms are changed to permanent and pensionable. Until then, Kenya’s public healthcare system remains in ruins.

Even more frustrating is the complete failure of the much-hyped Social Health Authority (SHA) and Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF). Kenyans who were promised accessible and affordable healthcare now find themselves forced to pay cash at private hospitals since SHA/SHIF is not recognized.

How Many More Must Die? Kenya is now a country where health is a privilege, not a right. The government’s failure to act has turned hospitals into ghost towns and left millions in despair. How many more must die before action is taken?

The Ministry of Health must immediately address the grievances of UHC medics, pay their gratuity, and convert their terms to permanent and pensionable before more innocent lives are lost. The time for empty promises is over—Kenyans demand action now!