The Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union has congratulated the new Health CS nominee Debra Mulongo Barasa.
Barasa was among the 10 CSs nominated on Friday by President William Ruto.
Upon successful vetting and approval by the National Assembly, Barasa will succeed former health CS Susan Nakhumicha.
In a statement, KMPDU Secretary General Davji Atellah said they are hopeful she will sort out the disputes surrounding doctor interns.
"KMPDU Congratulates Dr Deborah Mulongo Baraza on her nomination as the Cabinet Secretary for Health. We warmly welcome her to the dutiful responsibility of ensuring quality healthcare systems for all Kenyans, including decent work for all health workers," Atellah added.
Atellah added that the union is ready and willing to offer their expertise for her success.
"Being a young medical doctor and specialist physician, we believe she will quickly settle to the enormous task of correcting the disputes around internship and the constitutionality of social health authority," Atellah said.
Barasa is an infectious disease expert and has more than 18 years of experience in the healthcare industry and health programmes, she is an Internal Medicine physician and infectious Disease Expert at the World Health Organization.
The nominee establishes sustainable programmes in Eastern Southern Africa, supports member states in developing and implementing national action plans, and offers technical guidance on global policies and guidelines.
She has a Masters of Medicine in Internal Medicine from the University of Nairobi (Sept 2012 - Dec 2017).
Barasa also has Masters in Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (Ongoing)
She also holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery.
Her core competencies include Internal Medicine/Infectious disease; communicable and non-communicable disease prevention and control for clinical cases and public health programmes.
If approved by the National Assembly vetting panel, Barasa will be joining the ministry at a time when it has had issues with intern doctors among others.
The KMPDU members had been on strike for 56 days.
However, agitated intern doctors started fresh protests at Afya House on Monday, July 8 to express frustrations over years of waiting for their official posting.
They sustained the protests for four days, sleeping at the MoH main gate on some nights, until Thursday, July 11 when they called off the protest in what they said was out of goodwill.
They said they were committed to a fair and effective resolution of the current challenges but warned that they would return to the streets should their grievances not be addressed.
"In a gesture of goodwill, we have decided to suspend the planned assembly and demonstration at the Afya House premises scheduled for tomorrow Friday, July 12, 2024," the intern medics said in a statement.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists’ Union signed an addendum to the Return-to-Work Formula on the posting of intern doctors.
The new agreement modified the previous Return-to-Work Formula signed on May 8, 2024.
“This crucial agreement, signed amid ongoing negotiations, confirms the immediate posting of 1,210 intern doctors, enabling them to start their internships by August 1, 2024,” Public Health and Professional Standards PS Mary Muthoni said in a statement.