This archive report was first published on 12 November 2021.
Published on November 12, 2021, the UK's decision to stop hiring Kenyan nurses has left thousands of nurses in shock.
The UK's Department of Health cited a shortage of workforce in Kenya as the reason for the decision, stating that there was no need to hire Kenyan nurses when they could be hired back home. However, nurses who have already received conditional job offers from UK employers will not be affected.
The UK will conduct a fresh assessment to determine how future hiring and exchange programs for nurses would benefit both Kenya and the UK.
The decision comes as a surprise, given the agreement reached between Kenya and the UK in July 2021 during President Uhuru Kenyatta's visit to the UK. The agreement, signed by UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Kenya's Labour Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui, aimed to allow unemployed Kenyan nurses to serve in the UK's National Health Service before returning to work in Kenya.
The agreement was part of a broader effort to allow skilled Kenyan workers without degrees to migrate and work in the UK. Britain's new points-based immigration system lowered the requirement for job applicants to a minimum skill level of A-level or equivalent, from degree-level.
However, the recruitment of nurses in Kenya has been marred by controversy, with disputed claims that nurses had failed English tests. In October 2021, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe alleged that out of 300 nurses who had sat for the UK English test, only 10 had managed to sit for the exam. This claim was disputed by the Nursing Council of Kenya and the Ministry of Labour, who said that the nurses were yet to sit the exams.
