Kenya is set to restrict the practice of foreign doctors in most areas as the government moves to safeguard employment opportunities for local medical professionals.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced on Wednesday that only foreign doctors with specialised skills not found in Kenya or from East African Community countries will be allowed to continue practising.
Duale said the measure aims to ensure that public funds spent on training Kenyan doctors, from university education to specialist programmes, yield benefits for local practitioners first.
General practitioners, dentists, medical officers, and other basic cadres from outside the country will no longer have their licences renewed.
“We are not renewing the licences of foreign doctors. Those from within the East African Community are not affected, but even then, we will only allow specialists whose skills are not found in our country,” he said.
The Cabinet Secretary highlighted that despite government investment in training, many Kenyan doctors remain unemployed. “For many years, parents everywhere I go tell me, ‘Minister, my son or daughter has finished medical school and internship, but they have no job,’” he said.
“Why should foreigners come to treat Kenyans when our own doctors are at home without jobs?” Duale asked, underscoring the need to prioritise local talent.
Since the January licence renewal period started, he said he has personally rejected over 200 applications from foreign doctors, including some who had been banned by medical authorities in their countries. “Kenya was becoming a place where somebody would just walk in and open a clinic,” he noted.
The CS also pointed to private hospitals for employing large numbers of foreign doctors, citing a recent visit to a facility where nearly all doctors were from Egypt. He instructed these hospitals to focus on hiring Kenyan professionals.
“I told them to go and employ Kenyan doctors,” Duale said, comparing the policy to former US President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ stance. “Trump said America first. I am saying Kenya first.”
While acknowledging potential criticism, Duale said data from the Director of Medical Services shows Kenya has a surplus in certain specialties. Mission and faith-based hospitals are exempted from the full restrictions to maintain essential services, particularly in remote areas.
Despite the exceptions, he emphasised that public and private hospitals must prioritise Kenyan doctors. “It is not a choice. That is why we have medical schools in this country. That is why parents sacrifice to take their children to medical school,” he said.
Duale said the move aligns with President William Ruto’s pledge to expand employment in the health sector and reassured the public that Kenyan doctors will be given first opportunities to serve their communities.
