Kenya’s Health Crisis Started in 1963—and It’s Still a Scam
They promised health for all. What Kenyans got was a grand cover-up. They built hospitals without drugs. They hired doctors and paid them pennies. They opened clinics and left them to die. Politicians took donor money, flew abroad for treatment, then told Kenyans to boil water and pray. It wasn’t healthcare. It was systematic sabotage.
Different Presidents, Same Empty Ambulances
- Jomo Kenyatta posed for cameras in wards with no medicine.
- Moi sent citizens to Kenyatta Hospital but flew by chopper to his doctors.
- Kibaki opened Mbagathi with speeches and cameras but left interns to run it.
- Uhuru loved ribbon-cutting but forgot to refill oxygen tanks.
- Ruto tweets photos of wheelbarrows in clinics, but his medical file travels to Dubai.
Different leaders. Same broken system.
Village Clinics Collapse. State Mansions Flourish.
In Kilifi, a woman bled to death waiting for a nurse who had to walk ten kilometers because the ambulance was grounded.
In Kakamega, children with malaria get paracetamol and prayers. There’s no lab technician—he left last year.
In Siaya, maternity wards leak when it rains.
In Nyandarua, clinics close when the sun goes down because there’s one health worker for the entire area.
Meanwhile, Karen and Runda get new fences, fresh tarmac, and guarded silence.
Kenyan Doctors Are Running—Far Away
Ask a final-year med student at UoN where they’re headed. Canada, Australia, the UK. Anywhere but Kenya.
Why?
- A public intern earns about 25,000 KES a month.
- They buy their own gloves.
- A junior KRA officer earns more doing paperwork.
Senior consultants juggle three jobs to survive. Many are one bad day away from leaving the profession.
Nurses Are Holding the Fort—But They’re Breaking
Nurses are the backbone. They deliver babies, treat fevers, dress wounds, run emergency rooms, clean, counsel, and guard lives.
What’s their reward?
- Delayed salaries.
- Poor housing.
- No meaningful promotions.
- Empty “Thank You” speeches that vanish after a crisis.
Kenya Ignores Its Nutrition Experts
In Kisumu, someone can manage diabetes without insulin.
In Turkana, someone can fix malnutrition without imports.
In Nakuru, someone knows how to reverse ulcers with local grains.
But nutritionists aren’t on campaign posters. They don’t get tenders. They don’t get funding. So they vanish into side hustles or give up.
Kenyan Hospitals: Places People Go to Die
Kenyans don’t trust public hospitals. They’ve seen patients die because the drip was out of stock. They’ve seen mothers weep after a child was injected with the wrong drug.
- One X-ray machine serves an entire town.
- CT scan? Six-month wait.
- MRI? Try Nairobi. Or India.
This isn’t care. This is a national abandonment.
Stop Blaming the Workers. Blame the Rot.
The Ministry will call nurses rude. They’ll say doctors strike too often. But they never mention:
- Broken lab fridges
- Missing supplies
- Unpaid allowances
- Contracts awarded to politically connected ghost suppliers
The system wants quiet staff, not effective staff.
County Health Devolution Became a Scam
Counties build shiny outpatient wings—but forget the beds, staff, or electricity.
- Ghost workers on the payroll
- Real workers without tools
- A clinical officer seeing 200 patients a day
- A surgeon using a flashlight during surgery
They call it devolution. It’s just premium chaos.
Politicians Always Have a Ticket to India
They don’t worry when Kenyatta National Hospital is packed.
They don’t care if MTRH has 30 patients in a single ward.
They don’t panic when Mama Lucy runs out of syringes.
When their chest tightens, they board flights to Mumbai.
They praise Kenya’s “health vision” while flying to India for treatment.
Money Is Always Allocated. It’s Just Always Stolen.
Billions are poured into health every year. But check the tenders:
- Equipment bought but never used
- Drugs that expire in storage
- Ambulances parked because nobody paid the insurance
The money isn’t small. The theft is huge.
NHIF: National Insurance or National Joke?
They deduct your salary. Then they deny your claim. Or they limit you to one crumbling hospital. Meanwhile, NHIF bosses drive luxury cars and host beachfront conferences.
- You pay monthly.
- They party monthly.
- You sell your cow to get dialysis.
- They toast with cocktails.
The Real Doctors You Never See
They work in dusty rooms with no fans.
They wipe sweat with old handkerchiefs.
They stitch wounds with no power.
No TV crews. No politicians. Just dedication.
These are the people holding Kenya’s health system together—but nobody knows them.
Private Hospitals Work—If You Can Afford Them
Walk into Aga Khan. Walk into Nairobi Hospital. Clean beds. Modern labs. Reliable power. Skilled staff.
The catch? The bill could bankrupt you.
There are two health systems in Kenya.
One for the rich. One for the desperate.
Solutions Are Simple: Train, Pay, Equip
You can’t run a health system on desperation.
- Train more people
- Pay them fairly
- Equip them properly
- Hold them accountable
That’s how you build care. Not slogans.
Fund the Ministry. But Audit It.
Stop pouring billions into leaking pipes.
- Clean up Afya House.
- Fire the procurement cartels.
- Make health contracts public.
- Jail those who steal from the sick.
If you steal from a hospital, you’re no better than a killer.
Stop Worshipping Foreign Hospitals
India didn’t get great hospitals by accident.
They trained, invested, equipped, and protected their system.
Kenya can do the same. But not with leaders who see health as a side hustle or a donor magnet.
Medicine Isn’t Magic. It’s Infrastructure.
Prayers don’t replace antibiotics.
A motivational quote won’t heal a broken bone.
If the government won’t build labs, fund blood banks, and pay specialists, sickness will remain a death sentence.
Health Is Not Development. It’s Survival.
You can’t develop a country where people are dying.
- Roads are useless if people collapse on them.
- Wi-Fi doesn’t help if workers are too sick to work.
- Kenya won’t climb out of poverty on weak legs.
Kenyans Aren’t Asking for Much
They just want:
- A nurse who isn’t on strike
- A doctor who isn’t exhausted
- A clinic with painkillers and gauze
- A referral that doesn’t mean a 200km journey
Is that too much? Apparently, yes.
No More Committees. Build Toilets.
We don’t need another health task force.
We need:
- Latrines in schools
- Water in clinics
- Soap in maternity wards
- Mosquito nets in real homes
- Ambulances that actually move
Stop Waiting for the Next Pandemic
COVID proved how broken the system is.
Nurses wore polythene bags as PPE.
Doctors worked uninsured and unpaid.
Some died. Nothing changed.
Until the next virus lands. And it will.
Every Health Worker Is a Revolution Waiting
Health workers know the lies. They’ve seen the theft.
What they need is:
- Backup from citizens
- Policies that protect them
- Leadership that respects them
They won’t wait forever. They’ll leave. Or they’ll snap.
Health Is the Real Revolution
This isn’t politics. This is survival.
Kenyans don’t need drama. They need dignity.
In birth. In sickness. In recovery. In death.
Health is not a side show. It’s the show.
Pay health workers. Fund hospitals. Stop stealing. Or get out of the way.
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