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Kenya suffers severe nurse shortage

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 21 (UPI) -- Kenya has a dire shortage of nurses -- many leave the country or are unemployed because of a lack of foreign aid, the government says.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have imposed a government recruiting freeze to force some African governments to trim bloated budgets.

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One estimate is that 10,000 nurses are needed. Currently, one nurse may be caring for between 40 to 70 patients, the Sunday Observer reported.

Many rural clinics are being closed and nurses are becoming ill with hepatitis or tuberculosis.

More than 1,000 nurses were recently sacked, which means there will be emigration to wealthier nations also in need of health professionals but more able to pay salaries, the newspaper said.

Ironically, the government is helping Kenyan nurses leave the country because the economy benefits when their salaries are sent home.

"We currently have a health system compromised so much that our people's health is declining," said Luke Simba Kodambo, head of Kenya's National Nurses Association.

"Let us not block the opportunity for people who wish to move, but also let us encourage people to stay," said Kodambo.

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