By Antynet Ford
The Kenya Medical Association (KMA) has rejected the formation of a Presidential Task Force on Human Resources for Health, citing a duplication of functions.
In a statement to the press, KMA Secretary General Diana Marion stated that the task force’s mandate is already being carried out by other constitutional organizations.
Some of the bodies are the Kenya Health Human Resource Advisory Council (KHHRAC) and the Kenya Health Professions Oversight Authority (KHPOA).
According to KMA, KHHRAC is charged with reviewing policies and establishing standards for posting interns, inter-county transfers of healthcare professions, welfare, schemes, and maintaining a master register.
At the same time, KHPOA maintains a duplicate register for all health professionals, promotes and regulates inter-professional liaison, resolves complaints from patients, and arbitrates disputes besides ensuring that standards for health practitioners are upheld.
The task force was recommended following the Return to Work formula after the 56-day doctors’ strike.
KMA however pushed for the establishment of a constitutional Health Service Commission (HSC) which will manage the Human Resources for Health function centrally.
Some of the proposed functions include the setting up of standards for training, a code of conduct, recruitment, and remuneration, and the registration of health workers.
It will also oversee recruitment, and deployment and rationalize remuneration and terms of service for health workers in the country.
President William Ruto named the 20-member task force on July 6.
He appointed Khama Rogo as the chairperson and Judith Guserwa as the vice Chairperson of the task force.
This comes hours after intern doctors under the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) spent the night outside Afya house during their strike to be posted to health facilities nationwide in line with the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
