Amoth inches closer to top health job after acting for four years

Parliament's approval of nomination of Dr Patrick Amoth as the director general for health, this will end a long-running fight for the position, first created in 2017.

Heath CS Susan Nakhumicha nominated Amoth for the position and forwarded his name to Parliament for approval on Friday.

Amoth, a past chair of the World Health Organisation executive board,  is expected to get the job and get the job done.

He has been the acting director general of health since January 2020, after succeeding Dr John Masasabi.

Last year, Nakhumicha said nothing will stop Amoth from being confirmed.

“I have confidence, given the experience he has. He (Amoth) should emerge as the best,” she said.

The position was created through the Health Act 2017, which restricted holders to be medical doctors.

“The Director General for health shall be recruited by the Public Service Commission through a competitive process, vetted by Parliament and appointed by the Cabinet Secretary,” the Act says.

It adds that the appointee should hold office for a term of five years renewable once.

It said the holder should hold a “Masters degree in public health, medicine or any other health related field; have experience of at least 10 years in management of health services, five of which must be at a senior management position.”

The holder “must be a medical practitioner registered by the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board,” the Act says.

However, this restricted the office only to medical doctors and dentists, the only two cadres of health registered by the KMPDC.

Kenya has more than 17 health cadres, according to the Kenya Health Professions Oversight Authority.

Nurses and pharmacists immediately contested that section in court, including other sections of the Health Act that restricted senior positions to medical doctors and pharmacists.

The case was filed by the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya and Kenya National Union of Nurses.

The two bodies asked the court to suspend five sections of the Act, saying the Ministry of Health ignored their input when drafting the new rules.

Joseph Ngwasi, chairman of KNUN, on Sunday told the Star those sections were declared unconstitutional in 2022.

High Court judge Weldon Korir declared three sections of the Health Act 2017 unconstitutional and discriminatory.

Korir said it is unfair to limit top jobs in the healthcare system to certain groups of professionals without justification.

“The limitations in these sections, in my view, are unreasonable as there is no valid reason to treat healthcare providers and healthcare professionals differently yet they all serve in the same healthcare system with the aim of attaining the goals identified in the Health Act, 2017,” Korir said.

The Public Service Commission re-advertised the position of the DG in February this year.

In March, Nakhumicha said the re-advertisement will provide an avenue for Amoth to rightfully and officially secure the position.

"I have confidence, given the experience that he has, he should emerge as the best unless he fumbles during the interviews," she said.

"He has great experience he should be ahead of the pack."

Amoth said in his acting position, he has been the technical Advisor to the Cabinet Secretary of Health and the Government on all health matters.

He also supervises all directorates within the ministry, provides guidelines for registration, licensing, certification and gazettement of all health facilities.

A consultant obstetrician and gynecologist, he previously headed the Directorate of Public Health at the ministry, where he spearheaded strategy development for effective delivery of health services in all the 47 counties in Kenya.

He was also centrally involved in the inception and alignment of Universal Health Coverage.

A son of the late Senior Chief Amoth Owira of Alego, Patrick Omwanda, Amoth was born in 1970.

He formerly headed the Department of Health Sector Coordination and Intergovernmental Affairs, an assignment that was preceded by his successful stint as a Chief Medical Specialist and Senior Deputy director of Medical Services at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital Nairobi.

On his Linkedin page, he says he rose from a Medical Officer at Kisumu’s Provincial Hospital before becoming the Medical Superintendent in the former Kiambu District Hospital, now Kiambu County Referral Hospital.

He later served as the Director of Medical Services for Kiambu East and Kiambu West Districts, now Kiambu County.

Dr. Patrick Amoth is a graduate of the University of Nairobi’s Medical School and has a Masters in Obstetrics and Gynecology from the same university. He also holds a Diploma in Health Systems management form Galilee College in Israel.