Africa’s health sector is being robbed, as evidenced by the high number of Covid-19 deaths among medics.
Inasmuch as we see covid as a crisis, I feel that it has played a key role in unmasking the rot underlying our health sectors.

Politicians fly abroad after coming down with mild ailments, leaving common mwananchi at the mercy of understaffed, undeveloped and understaffed dispensaries.

How many people are dying from cancer, diabetes among other ailments that now go unreported?
How many health workers are working in risky environment?

It is devastating since the virus is taking away the little brains we have, working in tandem with brain drain. Kenya has a few specialized doctors who serve a massive population, but the government seems to ignore this.

Since the reporting of the first Coronavirus case, health CS Mutahi Kagwe assured doctors that they would be given enough PPEs in the fight against Covid-19.

However, four months later, Dr. Doreen Adisa was knocked by the virus. That might have been bad luck for her, but what about the rest of the senior-most doctors such as Dr.Robert Ayisi, who succumbed to the virus?

After the death of Dr. Anthony Were a few days ago, KMPDU acting Secretary General uncovered the real situation in the health sector, promoting a strike notice.

“Health workers and doctors are working under poor conditions. We lack enough PPEs, others have not been paid,” Dr. Chibanzi Mwachonda stated.

It should be noted with utmost concern that the government spends approximately $ 70000 to train a single medical specialist. Further, medical courses take more than seven years to produce a graduate.

This means that Kenya has a few specialized consultants but it’s wasting this resource by failing to give them enough protection from the virus. This is evidenced by the rising number of deaths of our doctors. Who is next?

Let’s speculate about life after this pandemic. We will have modern health facilities without specialized doctors or wait for some years before medical students graduate?

It is not too late for Kenya to shift its focus on protecting forefront fighters in the battle with Covid 19 . Empty promises and divisive politics is landing the health sector in jeopardy.

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