Health Crisis Deepens: Healthcare Bodies Warn of Rising Infant and Maternal Deaths as Nurses’ Strike Hits Day 37
PHOTO: Kenya Progressive Nurses Association President Michael Nyongesa (Left), National Nurses Association of Kenya (NNAK) President Collins Ajwang (Centre) and Midwives Association of Kenya Vice President Eunice Atsali flanked by other health professional association officials address a press conference at NNAK offices in Nairobi.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 3 – As the nationwide nurses’ strike enters its 37th day, healthcare professional bodies have raised concern over its growing impact on patients, healthcare delivery, and the wider public health system, calling on the national government, county governments, unions, and all relevant stakeholders to urgently break the deadlocked negotiations.
Representatives from across the medical workforce warned that the industrial action has escalated beyond a routine dispute into a public health crisis, marked by a sharp rise in preventable maternal and infant fatalities.
Mr. Collins Otieno Ajwang, President of the National Nurses Association of Kenya (NNAK), while speaking at a joint media briefing in Nairobi, highlighted the centrality of nursing staff to the broader stability of the nation’s health apparatus.
He was joined by representatives of other health professional bodies, including Kenya Progressive Nurses Association President Michael Nyongesa, Kenya Paediatric Association President Dr Supa Tunje, Kenya Clinical Officers Association Secretary General Joseph Chebii, Midwives Association of Kenya Vice President Dr Eunice Atsali and Amina Guleid of the Kenya Medical Association.
Mr. Ajwang noted that Nurses account for nearly 70 per cent of Kenya’s health workforce and are central to service delivery across all 47 counties.
“The current impasse is therefore not simply an employment issue. It has direct implications for the stability of our health system and the quality of care Kenyans receive”, said Mr. Ajwang.
The professional bodies said the impact of the prolonged strike is already reflected in national health outcomes.
As of Monday to Wednesday this week, they noted that 8 maternal deaths, 16 neonatal deaths, and 55 perinatal deaths had been recorded, compared with 22 maternal deaths, 44 neonatal deaths, and 130 perinatal deaths during the previous full week.
In August 2026, 75 maternal deaths and 458 perinatal deaths were recorded nationally, according to the EWENE dashboard.
Counties reporting the highest numbers of deaths include Kisumu, Nakuru, Kakamega and Kajiado
Medical representatives stressed that these figures represent only a fraction of the actual toll.
With thousands of expectant mothers and vulnerable patients unable to access functioning health centers, an increasing number of Kenyans are forced to seek care outside the formal healthcare system or forego critical medical assistance altogether.
The professional bodies highlighted several critical operational areas currently facing collapse;
Specialized Care Deficit: Intensive care units (ICU), renal dialysis facilities, and neonatal units require specialized nurses whose training takes years to develop. Their absence leaves critical patients without life-saving oversight.
Maternal and Child Care Teams: Effective maternal and child healthcare relies heavily on coordinated team dynamics between nurses, midwives, doctors, and clinical officers.The absence of nursing staff fractures this essential care chain.
Training and Pipeline Delays: Functional health facilities serve as clinical placement grounds for nursing, medical, and clinical students.
The shutdown has halted essential practical mentorship and training schedules, threatening to delay graduation cycles and compromise the future supply of healthcare workers.
The professional bodies further emphasized that the disruption to nursing services has implications across the entire public health sector.
“Nurses work alongside doctors, clinical officers, midwives, specialists, and other healthcare professionals, and their continued absence affects the functioning and continuity of care across the health system.”
Emphasizing that the priority must be to restore safe, uninterrupted healthcare services to the public, the professional associations urged the national government, county governments, and labor unions to set aside hardline positions.
“Maternal, newborn, and child health services depend on coordinated teams of healthcare professionals. We urge all stakeholders to find common ground and resolve the current impasse in a way that protects continuity of care and safeguards mothers, newborns, children, and families,” they said.
Further, they stressed that the priority must be to restore safe and uninterrupted healthcare services while addressing the wider challenges affecting the health system.
The associations reiterated that their intervention is intended to bring the professional and public health perspective into the national conversation and to highlight the consequences of continued disruption across the health system while urging all parties to return to constructive engagement so nurses can resume bedside duty.
