Unemployed Kenyan Nurses to Work in UK Under New Health Agreement

Unemployed nurses and health workers from Kenya will have the chance to work in the UK as part of a new scheme launched by President Kenyatta during his visit to London.

In a program to share knowledge and expertise, Kenyan health professionals and health managers will benefit from a special route to work in the UK, before returning to work in Kenya’s health sector.

The agreement is open to Kenya’s surplus health workers who are qualified but unemployed, ensuring the process is managed for Kenya’s benefit.

UK Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Labour Cooperation, Simon Chelugui, signed the agreement on Kenyan recruitment into the UK’s National Health Service.

It came on the third day of President Kenyatta’s visit to London, on a tour of the Royal College of Physicians in London. The special program came at the request of the Government of Kenya to channel nurses currently unemployed into jobs.

The President also witnessed the signing of the Kenya-UK Health Alliance, which will bring together the UK and Kenyan institutions – universities, teaching hospitals – cooperating on health partnerships.

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One of the flagship partnerships is on improving cancer treatment for Kenyans, thanks to a tie-up between Kenyatta University Teaching Research and Referral Hospital and the University of Manchester/Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

It will help improve the prevention and management of cancer in Kenya and promote the country as a regional hub for cancer treatment.

According to Jane Marriott, the British High Commissioner to Kenya, the new agreement on health workers allows skills sharing and expertise and is a fantastic opportunity for Kenyans to work in the UK.

“From COVID-19 vaccines and genomic sequencing to exchanges on cancer research and treatment to help Kenya treatment more cancer patients at home, the UK has a long and proud history of support for Kenya’s health sector. The signing of the Kenya-UK Health Alliance by President Kenyatta on his visit to the UK is the latest chapter in our flourishing partnership,” she said.

The UK’s Secretary of State for Health, Sajid Javid, added that the mutually respectful relationship the UK has with Kenya has further been strengthened by the sharing of the UK vaccine doses to support Kenya’s fight against COVID-19.

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“Our healthcare agreement will make the most of UK and Kenyan health expertise which will be beneficial to both countries, with the exchange of knowledge and training which will provide first-class healthcare,” he said.

The exact numbers of nurses who will go to the UK – and the process for visas – will be confirmed in the next three months.

The new agreement comes after a flurry of announcements of UK support for Kenya’s COVID-19 response.

On 28 July, Prime Minister Johnson confirmed the donation of 817,000 COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine doses for Kenya – half a bilateral donation, and half a UK donation through the COVAX facility – while earlier this month we announced new support on genomic sequencing with KEMRI to tackle emerging COVID-19 variants.

Kenyan and British scientists at KEMRI and Oxford University were closely involved in the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine, through trials of the vaccine through KEMRI Kilifi.