Kenya: Health Unions Begin Daily Protests As Nationwide Strike Enters Third Day

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Capital FM report from Nairobi, says Kenyan health workers represented by the Health Unions Caucus planned to start daily street protests on Wednesday as a nationwide strike reached its third day. The Nairobi march was scheduled to begin at Greenpark Terminus at 8:00 a.m., then move to the Nairobi County Assembly and the Council of Governors headquarters. Parallel demonstrations were expected at governors’ offices across Kenya’s 47 counties.

The unions are pressing county governments over several labour issues, including the conversion of Universal Health Coverage workers to permanent and pensionable status, their inclusion in the July payroll, implementation of the 2026 collective bargaining agreement, and signing of recognition agreements. The strike began Monday after talks with counties failed to settle the dispute, and Capital FM reported that services in public health facilities had already been disrupted in several counties.

Peterson Wachira, chair of the Health Unions Caucus and national chair of the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers, accused counties of ignoring court rulings and national-level agreements affecting health workers’ terms. According to the report, he said Sh8.9 billion had been allocated by the national government after consultations involving Parliament, the Ministry of Health and the Presidency to support the transition of UHC workers.

The caucus includes clinical officers, nurses, laboratory technologists, pharmaceutical technologists, biomedical engineers, nutritionists and public health officers. The dispute matters because counties manage much of Kenya’s public health workforce under the devolved system, and prolonged industrial action can limit access to care in public facilities.