Nurses, doctors, and other health workers in Kenya continue to face unsafe working conditions even after a series of strikes that total over 200 days of work stoppage

Booker Ngesa Omole of the Communist Party of Kenya talks about the state attacks on the party, the failures of the Uhuru Kenyatta government, and the protests against IMF-World Bank prescribed policies

The Party has condemned the delay in the proceedings in a statement and reported that defendants have still not been informed about the charges against them

The court hearing of 12 members of the Communist Party of Kenya who were detained on Wednesday has been postponed. The police action against them came as the party was organizing a movement against the skewed COVID-19 strategy of the government

The Kenya Union of Clinical Officers and the government signed a 17-point return to work agreement which addresses major issues such as comprehensive health insurance and hospitalization for health workers who have contracted the infection

Health workers are demanding payment of salaries, comprehensive health insurance, quality PPEs, increase in risk allowances, and conversion of contract workers into permanent employees with access to pensions

Doctors, nurses, and clinical officers in Kenya are all set to down tools on December 7 on a range of demands from the government, including provision of health insurance, quality PPEs, isolation and treatment centers for health workers

The previous two nation-wide strike actions, notified in May and August against non-implementation of promotions, were called off after assurances from the government. Seeing no progress, workers have vowed to not resume work till demands are met

The Kenyan government’s approval of insurance cover addresses only one of the key demands of health workers as many professionals are unhappy over unpaid remittances, lack of PPEs and pending promotions

Very little progress has been made in resolving the issues raised by doctors and nurses in Kenya. Meanwhile, protests have broken out in many cities against alleged misappropriation of funds for COVID-19 equipment

Over 750 healthcare workers tested positive, at least 14 of whom died, including some of the country’s top doctors. The union claims that doctors have not received their salaries since July and don’t have health insurance

Police in Kenya are accused of using excessive force and violence in the name of imposing the lockdown to prevent COVID-19, especially against people in the slums of capital Nairobi. Protesters also expressed solidarity with the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests in the US