A new poll by research firm TIFA shows that a majority of Kenyans do not support the ongoing doctors’ strike, which reached its 50th day on Thursday.
According to the poll conducted between April 27 and April 29, 54 percent of the Kenyan public stated they do not support it “at all.”
Additionally, 23 percent of respondents indicated strong support(“a lot”) for the strike, while nineteen percent expressed only minimal support(“a little”).
According to the survey, Kenyans primarily hold Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha responsible for the strike.
When asked who they believe is most responsible for the prolonged medical workers’ strike in the country, 47 percent of respondents pointed to CS Nakhumicha, while 28 percent cited the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU).
Eight percent attributed blame to county governments, five percent faulted the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), while the Council of Governors and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei each received one percent of the blame.
“There is no mention of the leadership of the previous (Jubilee) administration that was a party to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) the failure of which to implement was the main/initial basis for the first of the several strikes now in place,” TIFA pointed out.
The poll further reveals that the strike has garnered the most attention in the Mt. Kenya and Western regions, with the latter region experiencing the highest proportion of individuals directly affected by the absence of medical practitioners from medical facilities.
TIFA conducted telephonic interviews mainly in Kiswahili with a total of 2,912 respondents nationwide.
