Public health officers have called off their nationwide strike after 94 days, suspending the industrial action for 30 days to allow negotiations with the government.
The Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Union (KEPHUPU) Secretary General, Brown Ashira, announced the decision in Kitui County following an intervention by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, who agreed to facilitate talks to resolve the dispute.
Ashira directed all officers, including those stationed at border points and county governments, to resume duty within 24 hours.
"We want to ask all our members at the border points, at all the county governments here in Kitui, we want to ask all our members to resume duty in the next 24 hours as we give the duration of 30 days of negotiation time to be able to see our issues being addressed," Ashira stated.
Health CS Aden Duale during a meeting with teachers on September 17, 2026
@HonAdenDuale
The union has signed a return-to-work formula with Kitui County and expects comprehensive negotiations with the national government within 30 days, with all counties expected to follow suit.
The union reiterated that the decision was also partly driven by the mounting Ebola cases in the country, stressing that health workers will be more effective in disease surveillance once an agreement has been reached with the government.
"In the wake of Ebola, we want to make sure that our population are protected, safeguarded by the well-endowed PHOs who know what their work is in terms of prevention," Ashira added.
In the wake of the 94-day strike, some of the demands on the table included formal government recognition of KEPHPHU as a registered union.
The union also demanded the finalisation, signing, and implementation of its pending Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA); recruitment of additional officers, nationwide posting and payment of interns, and conversion of contractual and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) jobs into permanent and pensionable terms.
Other demands included payment of risk allowances and improved working conditions to strengthen disease surveillance and outbreak response.
They also opposed the transfer of personnel and assets to the Kenya National Public Health Institute without proper stakeholder consultation or independent budgeting.
This comes as the Council of Governors (CoG) former Chairperson, Ahmed Abdullahi, accused the Ministry of Health of fuelling recurring health worker strikes by failing to honour agreements.
Speaking months ago, the Wajir Governor said CS Duale and other national agencies had failed to implement intergovernmental agreements, triggering repeated strikes by doctors and UHC workers.
Meanwhile, CS Duale blamed county governments for delays in integrating over 7,400 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) workers into payrolls, saying Ksh8.6 billion had been allocated for the transition, stressing that the County Governments are the biggest obstacles in healthcare provision nationally.
Former Council of Governors Chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi, during a meeting on April 14, 2025
MOH