The State has announced intentions to hire 20,000 medical professionals to fill the shortage of staff in public health facilities around the nation.

The health workers would be absorbed over three years for Sh21 billion, according to Susan Nakhumicha, Health Cabinet Secretary.

In a plan that also aims to achieve Universal Health Coverage, which is scheduled to be implemented this year, Nakhumicha stated that the healthcare personnel would be dispatched to the county hospitals.

The CS informed Business Daily that to bridge the ratios as advised by the World Health Organization, the state would hire physicians, nurses, and midwives.

In 2020, Kenya employed 189,932 medical practitioners, with 66 percent working for the government and 58 percent nurses, 13 percent clinical officers, and 7 percent physicians.

The recommended health worker density ratio, as defined by the WHO, is 23 doctors, nurses, and midwives for every 10,000 people.

However, statistics indicate that there are 13 doctors, nurses, and midwives for every 10,000 inhabitants in Kenya.

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