Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale has announced new rules that will change how clinical officers are hired in Kenya.
These fresh directives were issued to the Council of Clinical Officers (COC) during a meeting with the council’s leadership, including Chairperson Prof. Samuel Kang’ethe.
Duale emphasized that the COC has a crucial responsibility to uphold integrity, ensure transparent licensing processes, and use evidence-based approaches to regulate clinical officers and health facilities.
He strongly warned against giving licenses to clinical officers who graduate from institutions that have not been properly vetted, approved, and audited by the council.
“Do not issue licenses to any clinical officer who was trained in a school that hasn’t gone through our inspection and evaluation process,” said Duale.
He stressed that this measure is essential in maintaining high standards in the medical field and protecting the health and safety of Kenyans.
To enforce this new directive, Duale instructed the COC to carry out a full re-inspection of all licensed health facilities. He also asked the council to submit detailed inspection reports to the Ministry of Health.
“You must go back and reinspect all these health facilities, and continue doing routine checks,” he directed. “The CEO of COC must work closely with the CEO of the other regulatory body. There must be proper coordination.
If one council denies a facility approval and you give it a license, we have a serious issue—especially since that council will also be giving us its own special report.”
Duale also pushed for the complete digitisation of all COC systems to align with the Ministry’s Digital Health Strategy.
This will be managed under the Digital Health Agency and is intended to allow real-time monitoring and help prevent cases of malpractice and corruption in the sector.
He further reassured the council that both he and the Ministry of Health are fully committed to supporting the council’s work.
This includes improving coordination, promoting healthcare policy reforms, and ensuring the successful rollout of the Taifa Care Model—a key component in reforming Kenya’s healthcare delivery.
These announcements come just weeks after the Kenya Union of Clinical Officers (KUCO) joined other health unions under the Health Sector Caucus to publicly oppose the government’s plan to merge regulatory bodies.
In a strong joint statement, the unions outlined 30 reasons for rejecting the proposed changes.
“We, as representatives of health workers and unions under the Health Sector Caucus, firmly stand against the merging of regulatory bodies,” part of the statement read.
“Peer regulation works best because it ensures that those who understand the profession regulate it.”
The unions were reacting to the Quality of Care Bill 2025, a draft proposal by the Ministry of Health that suggests merging and defunding multiple health unions and associations to form one regulatory body.
The proposed bill has sparked concern among healthcare workers, who argue that the changes would weaken regulation and harm the entire healthcare system.
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