Governors have revealed that the government is set to deploy 79 Cuban doctors to hospitals across the 47 counties.
In a statement by the Council of Governors(COG) on Monday, October 18, the governors confirmed that the doctors had arrived in the country and that they were being inducted by officials from the Ministry of Health.
Embu Governor, Martin Wambora, who doubles up as the chairman of the COG, stated that the move was part of the government's implementation of the specialist exchange program between the Kenyan government and the Cuban administration.
"So far, the Ministry of Health has secured 79 Cuban doctors in various specialties who have concluded the induction at the Kenya School of Government. The doctors will be deployed to the counties from October 25," Wambora stated.
In addition, the COG chair indicated that they would source for more doctors noting that there was a high demand for specialists in the country.
"In order to meet the demand, more specialists will be sourced from Cuba and will arrive in the country in due course," he added.
However, Wambora acknowledged that they had confronted a range of challenges during the implementation of the first phase, assuring the doctors that they had put measures in place to address the issues.
In 2019, two Cuban doctors who were deployed to Mandera County were abducted while on duty. The two were part of the 100 Cuban doctors who arrived in the county in 2018.
"To ensure smooth implementation of phase two, the council and the Ministry of Health are working towards ensuring that the challenges experienced in phase one are resolved," Wambora assured.
At the same event, the Embu governor revealed that they would hold the Annual Devolution Conference from November 23 to November 26 after the conference was postponed following President Uhuru Kenyatta's directive on public gatherings.
He also confirmed that the conference would be the last devolution conference before the country heads to the 2022 General election.
"We wish to inform members of the public that the COG has initiated the process to document the devolution journey 2013 which will focus on the gains, challenges, and lessons learned in the last nine years of implementing devolution," Wambora stated.
