UK Suspends Recruitment of Kenyan Healthcare Workers

The United Kingdom has halted the recruitment of Kenyan medics after it emerged that there was an existing workforce shortage in the country.

The British Government health department announced on November 11 that it was putting the process on hold so that it could carry out a needs assessment and audit.

The UK noted that although it was still very much committed to take on the medics, the process should be mutually beneficial to both countries. In the statement, the UK noted that Kenyan medics already in the country had contracts which had not expired.

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The announcement comes just a few days after the government announced that 90 percent of the applicants for the UK jobs had failed the basic English literacy test, which is a requirement for working in the country.

Kenya and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland signed a Bilateral Agreement for collaboration on healthcare workforce on 29th July 2021 during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tour to the UK.

Among the officials who participated in the interview for the implementation of the Bilateral Labour Agreement for Collaboration on Healthcare Workforce are Health PS Susan Mochache and Labour PS Peter Tum.

Read: First Batch of Kenyan Nurses Joining UK’s Healthcare Workforce to Depart in October

The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection in partnership with the Ministry of Health had been tasked with the implementation of the recruitment process and facilitation of the migration of candidates to the UK.

More than 30,000 unemployed medics were expected to benefit from the exercise.

A report by the World Heath Organization (WHO) showed that Kenya is among 57 countries facing the shortage of healthcare workers. Remote and rural areas are considered the worst hit by the shortage.

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