Kenya: Doctors begin fifth week of strike

Hundreds of Kenyan doctors and other medical practitioners protested on Tuesday demanding better pay and working conditions in an ongoing nationwide strike that has entered its fifth week.

Florence, a cancer patient, visited Kenya's referral hospital on Tuesday morning hoping she would get treatment for her worsening leg but was left unattended.

She proceeded to go back home and was caught up in the doctor's strike in the streets of Nairobi.

"We have not got any treatment. We have waited for a long time and we just had to leave without any medication and my leg is getting worse," she said.

The doctors carried placards and chanted against the Kenyan government, saying it had failed to implement a raft of promises, including a collective bargaining agreement signed in 2017 after a 100-day strike during which people died from lack of care.

"We are not going to bow to any forms of intimidation and threats. And we are hereby saying today that we are going to continue picketing, we are going to continue our constitutional rights as per article 37 of the constitution," said protesting medic, Emmanuel Odhiambo.

The strike has left many patients without access to essential medical services, exacerbating their conditions and causing distress.