Clerics plead over medics' strike as Christians mark Palm Sunday

"Politics come and go but the country will remain. Let them work with speed to solve both fertiliser issues and doctors' strike because patients are suffering in most hospitals.

At the Coast, the clergy demanded an amicable solution to the doctors' strike that has paralysed medical services in the country.

Father George Omondi of the Consolata Catholic Church in Likoni Mombasa decried the suffering of patients who cannot afford treatment in private hospitals.

Deliberate effort

According to the Nakuru Catholic Diocese Bishop Cleophas Oseso, the strike requires more deliberate effort on the part of the government.

During the Mass at the Christ the King Cathedral, Bishop Oseso noted that ignoring the doctors' plea portrays the government as one that does not value their services despite the heavy sacrifices they make.

"Most of the work the doctors do is out of their humanity. When their demands have been ignored, Kenyans have been left suffering at home and in hospitals," he said.

The ripple effect has been noted in private and mission facilities, which have recorded an upsurge in the number of patients.

"The government should note that the few hospitals that are still functional are already overcrowded. The net effect is delayed and low-quality services or even death of those who miss out on services," said Oseso.

The bishop further called on the government to expedite reforms in the health sector, citing poor remittance of reimbursements from the national health insurer, NHIF.

He added the health sector was facing a myriad of challenges, which require policy change to make it more effective.

He took issue with the security organs over the continued banditry attacks in the North Rift region despite the ongoing Operation Maliza Uhalifu.

"Many families in the area have been displaced. They are now camping in schools and churches despite a security operation being in place," he said.

Kakamega Catholic Diocese Bishop Joseph Obanyi urged those responsible to mind the welfare and the life of many poorer Kenyans in need of medical services.

"The standoff between doctors and the government should stop because it is the ordinary Kenyan who is suffering," said Obanyi.

He also decried high taxation.

"We have to start thinking as a country on how we can reduce taxes," he said.

Elsewhere, Deliverance International Church in Kenya Bishop John Masinde prayed for the talks between government officials and doctors to bear fruit.

Speaking in Ikolomani constituency where he opened a new branch, he urged the government to listen to the doctors because ordinary Kenyans can hardly afford services at private hospitals.

In Nairobi, Father Simon Nganga of the Holy Family Basilica called on the faithful to go beyond mere physical participation in the sacred observances

[James Murimi, Benard Lusigi, Peter Ochieng', Ann Musungu and Ken Gachuhi]