- Kenya is facing a serious challenge of retaining its skilled and experienced nurses, as many of them are leaving the country for better working terms and salaries abroad.
The president has been very clear that these jobs are available and that the government will facilitate the process of acquiring them.
However, this means that the country is losing its better-off workers, who have invested years of training and experience in their profession.
By the time a nurse starts to work in the ICU, that’s many years of experience and several levels of training. When they leave, you’re not going to find a direct replacement immediately.
That’s where the issue is coming and then many of them are not going into those countries mentioned by the government, Saudi Arabia, the UK.
They are going to Finland, Australia, Canada, and other places; finding their way and jobs in those areas.
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The union is raising an alarm that as people are leaving, what we need to realize here is that the better-off workers are leaving, and even as replacements we will not be able to bring in a fresh graduate into the ICU.
That’s the gap. Maybe we should start considering: How do we retain a certain carder of nurses with better terms, remunerations, working conditions, and everything to make it competitive here and not want to go there?
The numbers that are through and about regarding the number of nurses who are trained and who don’t have jobs in Kenya are around 20,000.
This is not just nurses, its health workers, and teachers. So when we talk about shortages, it’s not that we don’t have HR. It’s the level of skill.
The brain drain of nurses is not only affecting the quality of health care in the country, but also the economy.
According to a report by the World Health Organization, Kenya loses about $500 million annually due to the migration of health workers.
This is money that could have been used to improve the health sector and create more jobs for the local population.
The report also states that Kenya has one of the lowest ratios of nurses to population in the world, with only 14 nurses per 10,000 people.
This is far below the recommended minimum of 25 nurses per 10,000 people.
The shortage of nurses has led to increased workload, stress, burnout, and low morale among the remaining staff, which in turn affects the quality of care and patient outcomes.
The government and the stakeholders need to address this issue urgently and find ways to motivate their current employees.
