By Dr Ombati Mokua
Kenya’s long-running debate on doctor shortages has often been driven more by assumption than by evidence. Data from the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) paints a far more nuanced picture. As of the end of 2025, a total of 13,328 medical practitioners were licensed to practise in Kenya in 2026. Of these, 12,717 are Kenyan citizens, while 611 are foreign practitioners licensed under Cap 253 of the Laws of Kenya.
In practical terms, this means that 95.4 per cent of all licensed doctors in the country are Kenyans, with foreign practitioners accounting for just 4.6 per cent. Even more telling is the nature of these foreign licences. All 611 are temporary and facility-specific, and the law expressly bars their holders from operating independent private practices.
Their distribution further undercuts the popular narrative.
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Of the foreign practitioners, 290 are specialists, 53 are senior registrars who are newly qualified specialists awaiting formal recognition, 33 are registrars undergoing specialist training in Kenyan universities, and 235 are general practitioners. When viewed through this lens, less than 1.8 per cent of licensed doctors in Kenya are foreign non-specialists. These are the same doctors frequently accused in public discourse of “taking jobs” from Kenyans or distorting the labour market. The data simply does not support that claim.
Where policy assumptions go wrong
The persistence of this myth reflects a deeper policy misframing. During my tenure as a policy advisor in the Nyamira County Government, and through engagements at the Council of Governors, a recurring pattern became evident. While many county governments exceed Treasury staffing ceilings overall, the health sector is consistently singled out as consuming an outsized share of the wage bill.
This framing reduces health workers to a budgetary burden, rather than recognising them as a critical investment in human capital and an essential pillar of public service delivery. Globally, and in line with International Labour Organization and World Health Organization standards, health workers are rightly classified under recurrent expenditure, just like other public servants.
Many countries have nonetheless found ways to expand their health workforce through innovative, well-regulated financing and employment models that remain fiscally compliant. Where such approaches falter, the root causes are usually weak regulation, poor leadership, and inadequate monitoring, not the models themselves.
A viable path forward for Kenya
Kenya is not short of options if it is willing to move beyond rhetoric. One proven approach lies in the regulated use of employment agencies and structured public–private partnerships. Under these arrangements, licensed and unionised healthcare professionals are contracted to supplement, rather than replace, government staff. Such contracts operate within clearly defined terms that respect collective bargaining agreements, uphold decent work standards, protect labour rights, and ensure continuity and quality of care.
In the Kenyan context, this model is legally viable, provided it is anchored in a strong national framework that safeguards workers’ rights, harmonises remuneration through standardised rate cards, explicitly prevents casualisation, and brings unions and regulators into active oversight.
Implemented properly, this approach would allow counties to rapidly close staffing gaps, particularly in underserved facilities, without permanently inflating the public wage bill or breaching Treasury controls.
Rethinking how doctors are deployed
Staffing numbers alone will not solve Kenya’s healthcare challenges if deployment remains outdated. International best practice relies on structured shift systems, typically eight-hour rotations supported by regulated on-call schedules. This model improves patient safety, reduces clinician burnout, and, crucially, creates room to employ more doctors overall.
Other healthcare cadres in Kenya already operate effectively under shift-based deployment, demonstrating that such systems are both feasible and effective in the local context. Institutions such as the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital have shown that, with proper planning and management, this approach can work.
Extending similar scheduling reforms to doctors would align Kenya with global standards, optimise existing human resources, and strengthen service delivery, all without compromising professional standards or continuity of care.
Conclusion
Kenya does not have a surplus of foreign doctors taking jobs from locals. What the country faces instead is a policy and deployment challenge, not a labour invasion.
The solution lies in data-driven policymaking, innovative but well-regulated workforce models, and modern deployment practices that reflect global best practice rather than fear-based assumptions.
If the debate is reframed around facts rather than myths, Kenya can expand access to healthcare, protect its doctors, and deliver better services to the public within its fiscal realities.
-Dr Ombati Mokua previously served as the County Executive Committee Member, Health Services-
Nyamira County
