This year saw
the enactment of the Public Health Officers (Training, Registration and
Licensing) Act which makes provision for the professionalism, training, registration and licensing of Public
Health Officers and Public Health Technicians. The Act establishes the Public
Health Officers and Technicians Council whose purpose is to exercise general
supervision and control over the training, practice and employment of Public
Health Officers and Technicians in Kenya and advice the government and Ministry
of Health on matters of Public Health Governance.
The success,
order, prominence and impetus of any professional body is hinged on a strong
regulatory council and the powers given to this council signals a promise of a
brighter future to the legitimacy, position and contribution of Public Health
professionals in health care provision, management and policy dialogues in Kenya. This Act puts the Public Health Profession
at par with other council or board-regulated health professions in the country
such as Medicine, Nursing and Medical Technology.
Some of immense
powers it gives the Public Health Officers and Technicians Council include; Prescription
of courses of instruction for Public Health Officers and Public Health
Technicians, and specifying their minimum qualifications; Consider and approve
the qualification of Public Health Officers and Technicians for purposes of
registration; Licence and regulate the practice of registered Public Health
Officers and Technicians; Establish, regulate and maintain a professional code
of conduct for all Public Health Officers and Technicians.
Section 37
provides for the establishment of the Disciplinary Committee which shall be
responsible for instilling discipline, decorum and decency within the
profession. This committee actually has powers to suspend, withdraw or cancel
the practicing certificate of a professional found to have violated the code of
conduct. This will go a long way in restoring the integrity of a profession
which at times has been associated with corruption in course of duty of its
members.
The Public
Health profession shall no longer be a field for any other Dick and Harry. One
will have to undergo specific examinations for certification to practice in Kenya
or anywhere else. Let us ready to expect even specific dress-codes we are
required to put on while on duty. It is our hope that this Act will streamline
employment of Public Health Professionals, most particularly employment and
internships of Public Health (Environmental Health) Graduates.
One unexploited
area that this Act gives life and cognisance is Private Practice by Public
Health Officers and Technicians. It states that one is qualified for practice
as long as he/she is a Kenyan citizen, registered as a PHO/T, holds a valid
practicing certificate and annual licence, has served as a PHO/T under
supervision for a period of not less than five years and is deemed to have
professionally qualified with a certificate, diploma or degree.
The Council, in
its constitution, provides for a representative of the Association of Public
Health Officers, Kenya (APHOK). This reverberates into the need for
strengthening of the professional body which protects the rights and welfare of
all the Public Health Officers/Technicians in Kenya. This strengthening, in the
eyes of an intern, must involve providing avenues for interns to actively
participate in APHOK’s activities, including involvement in elections.
This Act will no
doubt play a bigger part in restoring the stature of Public Health
Officers/Technicians as key players in the pursuit of realizing holistic health
for all Kenyans. We are awaiting the constitution of this council with abated
breathe.
The writer is a
Public Health Graduate practising in Nairobi (Chrispory.juma@gmail.com)
