DESREE MORAA: KMPDU Demands Issues Way Forward After Intern Doctor Commits Suicide
Following Dr. Desree Moraa Obwogi’s death, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has called for improved working conditions for healthcare workers.
Dr. Moraa, an intern at Gatundu Level 5 Hospital, was discovered dangling on her balcony with a rope tied around her neck on Sunday night.
Dr. Moraa hanged herself on her balcony last night, citing frustrations from her consultants to do rounds and continuous 12-hour shifts that ended up being 36 hours. She had no food in the last 12 hours before her death. She also hadn't paid rent and the landlord was on her neck. pic.twitter.com/0sr5XxsfHD
— I'm Just Nyoike (@Kimaani) September 23, 2024
Listen to this doctor talking about the Dr Desree Moraa and it's so heartbreaking and painful. Why does Kenya punish its bright minds this much? Because I feel it's a deliberate action by the government to undermine the doctors by failing to pay interns doctors. It's so sad! pic.twitter.com/7aQdd5JdtF
— Macharia Njanja (@njanja_dennis) September 24, 2024
A suicide note discovered near her body attributed the reasons to a stressful work environment and personal struggles.
In a statement released on Tuesday, KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah called for a healthcare system that prioritizes workers’ mental health and ensures fair compensation to prevent exploitation.
We owe it to Dr. Moraa and every healthcare worker in this country; to demand work environments that prioritize workers' mental well-being, ensure timely and fair compensation, and hold accountable those who perpetuate abuse and exploitation. #RIPDrMoraa #JusticeforDrMoraa pic.twitter.com/2ChVsarbI6
— KMPDU (@kmpdu) September 24, 2024
“Dr. Moraa’s death is a sad but glaring manifestation of our country’s broken healthcare system that feeds on the unpaid and underpaid labor of young doctors and continues to undermine their safety and basic human rights,” he said.
“A workplace should not make workers feel so isolated and desperate that they believe there is no way out. The system as designed failed Dr. Moraa and many others who we have mourned before. It is a dangerous system that will continue to wreak havoc on the lives of healthcare workers.”
The KMPDU boss added: “We owe it to Dr. Moraa and to every healthcare worker in this country to demand for work environments that prioritize workers mental well-being, ensure timely and fair compensation, and hold accountable those who perpetuate abuse and exploitation.”
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The healthcare system has been significantly disrupted since doctors went on strike to demand better working conditions.
Interns stand in solidarity with their colleague Dr. MORAA
— Medical Intern (@TheIntern254) September 24, 2024
All interns are encouraged to go on a 36 hrs suicide prevention. Down that stethoscope, that facility has been running and will run without interns. This is to send a message to the men and women gate keeping hospitals pic.twitter.com/bAsUGEpVCQ
These included providing comprehensive medical coverage for medics, clearing unpaid salaries, and increasing intern pay.
After a nearly two-month strike, the doctors agreed to return to work after reaching an agreement in which the government would settle the arrears by the next fiscal year.
DESREE MORAA: KMPDU Demands Issues Way Forward After Intern Doctor Commits Suicide
