Healthcare services across Meru County have ground to a near standstill as a doctors’ strike stretches into its fourth consecutive week, with public hospitals running at drastically reduced capacity and ordinary residents left scrambling to secure medical care wherever they can find it.
The prolonged industrial action is falling hardest on those least able to cope. Expectant mothers, young children, the elderly, and patients living with chronic illnesses are all bearing the brunt of the ongoing crisis. Faced with public facilities that can barely function, some Meru residents have been compelled to make long journeys to neighbouring counties just to access basic medical treatment.
Those without the means or mobility to travel are left with few options beyond private hospitals — facilities that many families in Meru simply cannot afford. The financial strain has pushed a number of residents to delay or entirely forgo medical attention, a decision that could have serious long-term consequences for their wellbeing.
Dr. Kananu Kubai, chairperson of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union’s Eastern region, has laid the blame firmly at the feet of the county government. “They have not honoured the agreement we signed…they have since refused to pay doctors hired on contract as per the CBA rates,” she stated, accusing county authorities of reneging on a binding commitment made to medical staff.
The root of the dispute lies in the Meru County government’s failure to implement a Return-to-Work Agreement that both sides signed in May 2026. Beyond the salary question, doctors have also raised a broader set of grievances: persistent understaffing, delayed promotions, salary stagnation spanning years, and a denial of study leave that is hampering their ability to grow professionally and ultimately serve patients better.
Negotiations between county officials and the doctors’ union have continued but have so far failed to produce any meaningful breakthrough, leaving Meru’s healthcare system in a state of deepening paralysis and residents without reliable access to the medical attention they urgently need.
With the standoff showing no sign of resolution, pressure is mounting on the county administration to honour its obligations and bring an end to the suffering of thousands of Meru residents. Each week that passes without a settlement adds to the burden on families already stretched thin by healthcare costs they were never prepared to shoulder alone.
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