Olivia Okoth, CEO, Commonwealth College of Medical and Related Studies and Seth Panyako, Secretary General, Kenya National Union of Nurses during an interview at Spice FM, August 14,2026. [Benard Orwongo, Standard]
Patients continue to suffer the effects of challenges facing Kenya’s health sector, as stakeholders blame both the national and county governments for failing to give healthcare enough attention despite its importance.
Despite government promises to improve healthcare, stakeholders say gaps in staffing and funding continue to cripple many public hospitals.
According to Olivia Okoth, Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth College of Medical and Related Studies, Kenya does not have enough health workers to meet the growing number of patients seeking treatment in both public and private facilities.
“There is a disparity between the available labour force and the number of patients we have to handle every day, the equipment available and the kinds of illnesses we have to manage,” said Okoth during an interview on Spice FM on Friday.
Echoing her remarks, Kenya National Union of Nurses Secretary General Seth Panyako said the shortage of health workers has led to long queues in public hospitals, with nurses forced to attend to many patients at the same time.
This, he says, leaves health workers with little time to give patients individual attention and has also contributed to burnout.
“There are three nurses for every 10,000 people in the population. That is the ratio in the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa. The minimum should be 25 instead of three,” said Panyako.