100 Cuban Doctors to Continue Working in Kenya After Gov’t Renews Deal

The 100 Cuban doctors imported to the country in 2018 will continue to work in Kenya after the government extended their stay.

The medics’ contract was renewed on Monday following the expiry of their initial two-year deal, according to The Star. 

Health CS Mutahi Kagwe in a letter to the Council of Governors chairperson Wycliffe Oparanya said counties will continue to meet their obligations in line with the Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2018.

Under the MoU, the national government is required to pay the doctors’ salaries while counties cater for their accommodation, transport, and other work-related expenses.

“This is to notify you that the ministry has renewed the bilateral agreement between Kenya and the Republic of Cuba on the provision of specialized healthcare services, through the deployment of Cuban doctors. The continued services of the doctors in the counties is therefore assured,” Kagwe said in the letter.

The initial MoU obligated the government to ensure the specialists receive their pay by the tenth day of every month, cater for their travel expenses to Kenya and back to Cuba during annual leaves and final departure.

The Cuban doctors arrived in Kenya in June 2018 and underwent induction at the Government School of Science for one month before being deployed to each of the 47 counties.

The specialists include radiologists, nephrologists, orthopedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, and neurologists.

Their salaries are based on the civil service Job Group S under the government pay structure set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

The Cuban medical team was sent to work in Kenya under an agreement between the two countries that also saw 50 Kenyan medics travel to the Caribbean nation to receive specialized training, especially on family medicine.