Clinical Officers Vow No Retreat as Nationwide Healthcare Paralyzes Across 47 Counties

NAIROBI, Kenya — August 3, 2026 — Public health services across all 47 counties remained grounded today as the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) entered the third week of its nationwide strike. Addressing media representatives during a press conference in Nairobi on Monday, KUCO National Chairman Peterson Wachira declared that clinical officers will not return to work until the government fully honors past return-to-work formulas and addresses systemic labour violations.

​The industrial action, which commenced on July 20, 2026, has left outpatient clinics, maternity wards, and diagnostic units in public facilities unstaffed, leaving thousands of patients seeking care in strained private facilities or going without treatment.

​“We are not on strike because we enjoy seeing public hospitals empty. We are here because the Ministry of Health and the Council of Governors have consistently treated solemn agreements as mere pieces of paper,” stated Wachira. “Trust between clinical officers and their employers has completely broken down. We will not be cajoled back into consultation rooms with empty promises.”

​Core Points of Friction

​During the Monday briefing, the union leadership outlined four primary demands that must be met before any return-to-work formula is signed:

Implementation of Long-Delayed CBA

​The union accused county governments and the Ministry of Health of deliberately stalling the execution of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Despite prior court directives compelling all parties to finalize the document, county authorities have repeatedly defaulted on signing the negotiated terms.

​2. Absorption of UHC and Global Fund Clinicians

​Hundreds of clinicians recruited under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) drive and Global Fund initiatives continue to serve under precarious, short-term contracts while earning significantly lower pay than their permanent peers. KUCO demands their immediate absorption into permanent and pensionable terms.

​3. Disbursement of Salary Arrears & Health Risk Allowances

​Wachira highlighted that clinical officers, as primary frontline care providers, continue to work without comprehensive health insurance cover and are routinely denied statutory health risk allowances and commuter provisions, alongside months of accumulated pay arrears.

​4. Arbitrary Job Group Downgrades

​The union strongly protested recent Ministry of Health recruitment drives that placed freshly licensed diploma and degree clinical officers into lower, obsolete job cadres rather than their legally designated entry grades (Job Group H for diplomas and Job Group K for degree holders).

​A System at Breaking Point

​Wachira emphasized that clinical officers handle over 70% of outpatient care in Kenya’s healthcare system, making their absence immediately felt across dispensary, health center, and county referral levels.

​“When a government undervalues the very professionals diagnosing and treating its population, it compromises the nation’s welfare,” Wachira warned. “We urge the Council of Governors and the Ministry of Health to come to the negotiating table with genuine goodwill, not administrative threats.”