By Cece Siago
The Kenya Environmental Health and Public Health Practitioners Union (KEHPHPU) has accused the Ministry of Health of unlawfully excluding Public Health Officer Interns (PHOIs) from the recently released 2026/2027 internship placements, describing the move as discriminatory and a threat to the country’s public health system.
The union said the omission of public health officer interns from the latest deployment list violates the Constitution, the Health Act, the Employment Act and the National Internship Policy of 2020, all of which require eligible interns to be trained and placed.
Speaking in Diani, Kwale County, KEHPHPU Secretary General Brown Ashira said public health officer interns play a critical role in disease prevention, environmental health surveillance, epidemic monitoring and community sanitation, making their exclusion detrimental to Kenya’s preventive healthcare system.
“The Ministry’s decision undermines a profession that is essential in protecting communities from disease outbreaks and other public health risks,” he said.
KEHPHPU Secretary General Brown Ashira speaking during a press briefing in Diani. Photo By Cece Siago
The union also rejected claims that budget constraints could justify the exclusion, arguing that public health officers are an integral part of Kenya’s healthcare workforce and should receive equal treatment alongside other healthcare professionals.
According to KEHPHPU, the continued failure to place and pay the interns could worsen staffing shortages, discourage young professionals from joining the field and weaken the country’s ability to respond to future health emergencies.
The union is now demanding the immediate posting of all eligible public health officer interns, the issuance of establishment codes to facilitate their deployment and payment, and the allocation of internship stipends in the national health budget.
“Interns are not volunteers. They are professionals gaining practical experience while delivering practical experience to the people of Kenya. It is only fair that the receive their stipend and be considered to the internship programme,” said Kevin Shikuku.
Nicholas Nyale, another official urged the government to consider the interns placement and payment adding that a number of young interns were struggling for survival.
He called on the Ministry of Health to end what it termed discrimination against public health officer interns and harmonise internship conditions for all healthcare professionals in line with the 2020 Internship Policy.
KEHPHPU has issued an ultimatum to the Ministry of Health, warning that if the interns are not deployed and a clear roadmap for their paid placement is not provided, the union will mobilise nationwide industrial action and pursue legal action to compel the government to comply with the law.
Sources from the Ministry of Health who did not want to be mentioned however said that public health officers ‘have never been included’ by the ministry.
