Kenya has announced that it will end a six-year partnership that allowed Cuban doctors to work in Kenyan hospitals.
Speaking on Wednesday, Health Minister Susan Nakhumicha said that the move is to help curb challenges faced by Kenyan health workers, including the lack of employment opportunities.
“We have decided not to renew the agreement with the Cuban doctors. Our very own healthcare professionals are committed to the cause,” she said.
A deal was established in 2017 for an exchange programme in which Cuban doctors would help fill the gap in county hospitals while Kenyans would travel to Cuba for specialised medical training.
It alleged that Kenyan government was paying the Cuban professionals much more than their Kenyan counterparts – even as some locally trained doctors remained unemployed.
Doctors and other health workers in Kenya have often gone on strike to demand higher wages, better working conditions and for more doctors to be hired.
