The Kenya Medical Association (KMA) has voiced opposition to the creation of a Presidential Task Force on Addressing Human Resources for Health, labeling it as redundant.
In a statement, Dr. Diana Marion, the Secretary General of KMA, argued that the task force’s responsibilities overlap with those of existing constitutional bodies.
Among these bodies are the Kenya Health Human Resource Advisory Council (KHHRAC), tasked with policy reviews and standards setting for interns’ placements, inter-county transfers of healthcare professionals, welfare schemes, and maintaining a comprehensive register.
Additionally, the Kenya Health Professions Oversight Authority (KHPOA) manages a duplicate register for all health professionals, promotes inter-professional collaboration, handles patient complaints, resolves disputes, and ensures practitioner standards.
The task force’s formation was proposed in response to the Return to Work agreement following a 56-day doctors’ strike. However, KMA advocates for establishing a constitutional Health Service Commission (HSC) instead.
The HSC would centrally manage Human Resources for Health functions, including setting training standards, codes of conduct, recruitment procedures, remuneration policies, and overseeing worker registration, deployment, and terms of service.
President William Ruto appointed the 20-member task force on July 6, with Khama Rogo as chairperson and Judith Guserwa as vice chairperson.
