Kenya’s nurses union has thrown its weight behind Health CS Aden Duale’s directive to close substandard and ill-equipped hospitals, arguing that patients are routinely exposed to unsafe, undignified conditions and unethical billing practices. The union says a meaningful clean-up of the health system is overdue and must start with enforcing minimum service and infrastructure standards.
Union leaders spoke in Kisumu at a training forum that drew more than 180 branch officials from across the country. The program covered capacity building, collective bargaining agreement negotiations, how responsibilities are shared between the national government and counties, and practical approaches to resolving disputes before they escalate.
National general secretary Seth Panyako condemned facilities that charge full fees while forcing patients to share beds, calling the practice an abuse of both patients and public or insurance funds. If an institution wants to serve more people, he said, it must expand bed capacity and hire additional nurses and doctors rather than overcrowd wards. Quality, he stressed, is non-negotiable.
Panyako also linked poor standards to financial leakage, alleging that cartels exploit gaps to siphon money from insurance schemes—both the defunct National Health Insurance Fund and the newer Social Health Authority. He criticized policies that require vulnerable rural households to pay annual contributions up front, citing cases of widows asked for 800 shillings and elderly caregivers asked for 300 shillings. He urged that the most vulnerable Kenyans receive free access to care.
Broader concern about deteriorating service levels ran through the remarks. Collins Ajwang, the union’s president, warned that nurses will not continue working in facilities lacking essential equipment, supplies, and medicines. Funds are being disbursed, he said; managers must account for how those resources are used and ensure they reach frontline care.
The union’s stance gives political cover to the government’s push to shutter noncompliant facilities and may accelerate inspections nationwide. It also intensifies pressure on administrators to reinvest in staffing, beds, equipment, and transparent financial management. Ultimately, nurses argue, universal health coverage can only succeed if the system guarantees safe spaces to heal, ethical billing, and protection for the poorest households.
For communities long dependent on small, donor-supported or privately run facilities, the directive raises short-term worries about access. Union officials counter that temporary disruption is preferable to chronic neglect, and say mobile outreach, referral planning, and emergency staffing pools can bridge gaps while facilities upgrade to meet national standards.
