KEHPHPU Launches Nationwide Demonstrations as Public Health Officers’ Strike Hits Day 92 Amid Rising Ebola Cases
The Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Union (KEHPHPU) has launched nationwide demonstrations as the strike by public health officers enters its 92nd day, demanding enhanced risk allowances, payment of interns’ stipends, and the employment of more public health professionals.
The demonstrations come amid concerns over disease surveillance and prevention following reports of nine confirmed Ebola cases in the country.
Union officials warned that the prolonged industrial action was straining public health services, calling on the government to urgently engage workers and address their grievances. “We are the people who prevent diseases and protect communities. Prevention is a priority, not an option,” the officials said, insisting that public health officers must receive better recognition and support for their work.
KEHPHPU National General Secretary Brown Mashira said the government must prioritise preventive healthcare, strengthen disease surveillance and contact tracing, and increase staffing levels in the public health sector.
The union also criticised the failure to recruit new public health officers, noting that the Ministry of Health had last employed officers in 2010, according to its representatives. Leaders further raised concerns over the representation of public health officers in the national Ebola response task force and called for their inclusion in disease prevention planning.