Government to pay intern doctors, announces PS Mary Muthoni

There is hope for payment of intern doctors as treasury confirms availability of Ksh. 1.75bn in a supplementary budget that will be advanced to the ministry of health, and disbursed to counties as a conditional grant.

According to a commitment letter from the treasury to the ministry of health, the money will be available as agreed during a nationwide doctors’ strike that paralysed services for 3 months.

“I want to report confidently that we have budget for interns this year and we will be paying where there’s no contention and I believe we are not going to have contention,” she said

“The interns who are in the field who have been working for months on end will be paid and we are processing their payment so that we are able to move away for that,” stated the PS

The Ksh. 1.75 bn will be available in the 2024/2025 financial year, while the remaining Ksh. 1.75 bn will be available in the next financial year to settle the Ksh. 3.5 bn arrears.

According to public health and professional standards principal secretary Mary Muthoni, there is clear goodwill from government to implement the emerging issues during the strike, as the government seeks to avert such a scenario.

Consequently, doctors pursuing higher education are set to benefit as the government okays their demand for paying for postgraduate studies which have already been budgeted for.

PS Muthoni also says the presidential taskforce on human resources is currently finalizing on its policy formulation, to give the country a HR policy for health which has never been in place.