The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has threatened nationwide industrial action over reports that the Kenyan government is in talks with the United States to establish an Ebola quarantine and treatment facility.
In a statement issued Thursday, May 28, KMPDU accused the government of engaging in “backdoor negotiations” that could expose Kenyans to biosecurity risks while the country’s own healthcare system remains underfunded and overstretched.
The union gave the government a 48-hour ultimatum to make the alleged negotiations public, warning that failure to do so could trigger nationwide industrial action.
“Kenya is a sovereign republic, not a geopolitical isolation ward. We give the government a 48-hour ultimatum to make these negotiations public. Should the Ministry of Health proceed to sign away Kenya’s health security to appease foreign masters without addressing our structural healthcare shortages and staffing crises, KMPDU will mobilize nationwide industrial action. We will protect our healthcare workers, and we will protect our country,” read part of the statement.
KMPDU Gives Govt Ultimatum Over Kenya-U.S. Ebola Deal
KMPDU questioned why Kenya had allegedly been selected to host exposed, or infected, U.S. citizens linked to the ongoing Bundibugyo strain Ebola outbreak reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
Further, they questioned why individuals exposed to Ebola would allegedly be flown into Kenyan airspace if the United States considers it too risky to manage the cases within its own borders.
The union demanded immediate transparency from Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, arguing that Kenya should not become a “containment colony” for a foreign superpower.
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Additionally, the union also accused the government of prioritizing a foreign-funded quarantine project while public hospitals across the country continue to struggle with shortages of medicines, diagnostic reagents, intensive care equipment and healthcare workers.
According to KMPDU, it is unacceptable for the government to facilitate what it described as the importation of a deadly disease at a time when thousands of qualified Kenyan doctors remain unemployed or trapped in poorly paid contract positions.
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Other Demands
The doctors’ union further raised concerns about reports that the proposed facility could be staffed by the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps rather than Kenyan medical personnel.
KMPDU warned that it would oppose any arrangement that sidelines local healthcare workers, insisting that any such project must guarantee permanent employment opportunities, better pay and comprehensive medical cover for Kenyan doctors and nurses.
“If this facility is built, the Kenyan government must leverage this as a non-negotiable mandate to permanently employ the thousands of jobless Kenyan doctors and nurses into the public mainstream, fully funded by the state and the international partners pushing this deal,” read part of the statement.
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