Dr. Mwangangi: We have confirmation from NMS that payment to healthcare workers in Nairobi has been made.

Health CAS Dr. Mercy Mwangangi has on Friday revealed that allowances owed to healthcare workers dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic have been paid. Dr. Mwangangi was speaking at Afya House during the daily situational briefing on Covid-19 in the country.

”We have had discussions with the NMS team as well as the Doctors Union in Nairobi. I am happy to report that the Ministry of Health’s official position is that Covid-19 allowances have been paid for all staff in Nairobi County. We have records to show this and also a confirmation from the NMS.

Regarding the PPEs, we continue to ensure that our healthcare workers have the right PPEs. We have initiated a fourth round of distribution of PPEs and the healthcare workers should remain confident that they will get the PPEs they need.” she said.

Her statement comes after Nairobi County healthcare workers issued a strike notice citing lack of PPEs and the delays in salaries and payment as the primary reasons for the same. She reiterated that the Ministry had put in place mechanisms to protect healthcare workers and urged all staff to report to the relevant authorities any defective PPEs.

She admitted that there had been a slight delay in the transfer of the payroll from the County to the Nairobi Metropolitan services following its institution but that the teams involved in the transition were up to the task.