The Kenya conference of Catholic Bishops has called for truce between the government and the striking medics to end patients’ suffering.
KCCB chairman Archbishop Martin Kivuva said the ongoing strike has left patients suffering in public hospitals while both the government and the doctors engage on hard stands.
Kivuva said a truce between the two parties will be the best solution to the problem.
This happens as the country is facing a health catastrophe as doctors in public facilities have laid down their tools demanding better working conditions, implementation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), posting of medical interns and medical cover.
Patients once assured of care now find themselves in a dehumanizing state, left on their own as hospitals and doctors demand cash before.
He was speaking in Mombasa at the Our Lady of Africa Tudor Pastoral Centre, where he had joined thousands of Catholic Church congregants to mark the Palm Sunday service in Mombasa.
Kivuva further cautioned road users to observe safety on the road following the rise of road carnages leading to lots of lives.
Fatalities resulting from road accidents in the country have risen by 7 per cent with 1,026 people killed in road accidents across the country from January to March 20, 2024.
Data by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) reported the number of fatalities during a similar period in 2023 at 959.
The Authority said 384 pedestrians, 77 drivers, 225 passengers, 16 pedal cyclists, 242 motorcyclists, and 82 pillion passengers lost their lives in road accidents between January 1 and March 20, 2023.
NTSA attributes the deaths to a breach of road safety regulations.
Haniel Mengistu
