KMPDU Confirms Gov’t’s Commitment To Hire 2,000 Doctors
The government will hire 2,000 more doctors as part of a new, comprehensive agreement negotiated between the Ministry of Health and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU).
The commitment made on Thursday, July 2, following high-level conversations, is that the additional doctors will be hired soon, with a comprehensive employment status report scheduled to be provided within the next week.
According to the agreement, the recruiting is designed to alleviate pressure on overburdened public hospitals, where doctors have often expressed worries about severe workloads and understaffing.
“Today’s high-level consultative meeting between KMPDU and the Ministry of Health resulted in important commitments on long-standing issues affecting doctors, including the government’s reaffirmation of its commitment to employ 2,000 doctors, alongside the release of a comprehensive employment status report next week,” KMPDU stated in a statement.
Today’s high level consultative meeting between KMPDU and the Ministry of Health led by CS @HonAdenDuale that resulted in important commitments on long-standing issues affecting doctors. These include:
1) MoH engags Ministry of Public service for immediate Activation of the IPPD… pic.twitter.com/qrWWw28wxz— Davji Bhimji Atellah (@Davji) July 2, 2026
The move comes days after Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale confirmed that the ministry had posted over 6,000 interns who began their mandatory 12-month internship programme on July 1, 2026.
According to the ministry, the internship programme is intended to equip newly qualified healthcare professionals with practical clinical experience before they are fully licensed to practise.
The cohort includes 875 Medical Officer interns, 69 Dental Officer interns, 615 Pharmacy Officer interns and 2,000 Bachelor of Science Nursing Officer interns.
It also comprises 705 Bachelor of Science Clinical Officer interns and 2,096 Diploma Clinical Officer interns, bringing the total number of interns to 6,360.
Besides the hiring of 2,000 new doctors, the meeting also yielded several other key commitments.
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These include the settlement of salary arrears dating back several years, and the initiation of negotiations for a new 2025-2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
The government also agreed to include 2024–2025 salary arrears in the upcoming supplementary budget, with payments targeted for December 2026.
In addition, outstanding arrears for the period between 2017 and 2024 will be addressed, with a progress update expected in August 2026.
Other resolutions include the activation of administrative systems to facilitate salary adjustments under the existing CBA, and reforms to improve payment timelines for doctors’ medical cover contributions.
The doctors’ union said it will monitor the implementation of the agreement.
They also noted that the timelines set will determine whether the commitments translate into real improvements for doctors.
KMPDU Confirms Gov’t’s Commitment To Hire 2,000 Doctors
