The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has lauded Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale for successfully posting medical interns without the usual protests.
Speaking in Nairobi, KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Atella praised the ministry’s proactive measures in addressing longstanding issues that have previously driven interns to the streets. “For the first time, interns were posted without any demonstration,” he remarked, hailing the move as a significant step forward in labour relations.
Dr. Atella confirmed that intern doctors are now earning the standard monthly package of Sh208,000, an improvement from Sh206,000 due to inflationary adjustments. He also noted that similar improvements have been made for nurses and clinical officers, aligning their pay with existing schemes of service. “That’s because the minister understands his job. The previous ones did not,” he asserted.
The praise follows the Health Ministry’s June 27 announcement of the deployment of 6,484 interns across the country for the 2025-26 cohort. The interns, including doctors, nurses, clinical officers, dentists, and pharmacists, have been posted to various healthcare facilities for supervised clinical training.
On social media platform X, CS Duale clarified that intern doctors’ pay includes a basic salary of Sh46,120, with allowances under CSG 9/JG ‘L’ raising the total to Sh208,000 per month.
The union’s commendation comes as part of broader efforts by the ministry to foster better relations with healthcare unions. On July 2, Duale held a high-level meeting with leaders of the Kenya Union of Nurses (KNUN) and Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO), reaffirming the government’s commitment to transitioning eligible Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers to permanent and pensionable terms.
He also urged union support for the Quality Healthcare and Patient Safety Bill, 2025 — a proposed reform aimed at strengthening Kenya’s healthcare system under Vision 2030 and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
Observers believe this smooth internship deployment marks a possible turning point in how the government handles relations with frontline healthcare workers.
