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 President Uhuru Kenyatta agreed the deal last year and the plan was
accelerated after his state visit to Cuba in March.
But Ouma Oluga, secretary general of Kenya Medical Practitioners,
Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), told Reuters the decision is
unethical because there are enough doctors locally.
"There are 2,000 Kenyan doctors that require employment and 170
specialists ... have not been deployed by the Ministry of health,"
he said. "We do not understand why a government would be creating
employment for another country and not their own."
The dispute reflects an attempt by the government to resolve the
problem of inadequate healthcare provision that many medical
professionals say has been left to fester by successive
administrations.
Kenya's doctor-to-patient ratio is one to 16,000, according to
official data, far below a recommendation of the U.N. World Health
Organization of one to 1,000.
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The government says doctors in far-flung hospitals lack specialized
skills, forcing patients to pay to travel to the capital Nairobi or
abroad for treatment.
Doctors say they are underpaid and lack equipment. In March, four
members of staff at Kenya's largest referral hospital were suspended
for starting brain surgery on the wrong patient.
Last year the government granted doctors a pay rise promised in 2013
after a three-month strike. Oluga said KMPDU will not interfere with
the government plan of importing doctors.
"If the Kenyan government wants to bring Cuban doctors, that's up to
them," he said.
The doctors are expected to arrive in June and each county should
get at least two. They will work in a country where medical
provision is split between central government and 47 county
governments.
(Reporting by John Ndiso; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
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