The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has called for immediate steps to resolve the nationwide nurses' strike, warning that continued disruption of medical services could endanger patients and deepen the country's healthcare crisis.

The commission said the industrial action has moved beyond an employment disagreement and has become a wider public health and human rights issue requiring urgent attention from both national and county governments.

KNCHR Chairperson Claris Ogangah said authorities need to intervene quickly to restore essential medical services while simultaneously addressing the grievances raised by nurses.

One of the commission's major concerns involves reports of deaths recorded while the strike has been underway.

According to information received by KNCHR, 79 deaths were reported between Monday, August 31, and Wednesday, September 2.

The reported cases included eight maternal deaths, 16 neonatal deaths and 55 perinatal deaths.

However, KNCHR cautioned against automatically linking the fatalities to the industrial action.

The commission stressed that independent investigations are necessary to determine the circumstances surrounding each death and whether disruption of healthcare services contributed to any of the cases.

It consequently called on the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), the Ministry of Health and relevant county health authorities to conduct urgent investigations.

KNCHR wants the institutions to verify the reported figures and establish what happened in individual cases before conclusions are reached.

The commission also recommended comparing mortality figures recorded during the strike with data from similar periods when healthcare services were operating normally.

In particular, authorities were urged to examine figures from the corresponding period in 2025 alongside other appropriate historical data.

KNCHR said publishing such findings would provide a clearer picture of whether mortality levels changed significantly during the industrial action.

Despite the need for verification, the commission warned that authorities cannot afford to delay measures intended to protect patients.

It said prolonged interruptions to healthcare could threaten several constitutional protections enjoyed by Kenyans.

These include the right to life, access to the highest attainable standard of healthcare, emergency medical treatment and human dignity.

KNCHR expressed particular concern about people who depend heavily on continuous or specialised medical attention.

Expectant mothers and women who have recently given birth were identified among those potentially facing increased risks.

Newborn babies, children, older people, persons living with disabilities and patients managing chronic illnesses were also listed among groups requiring additional protection.

The commission said disruptions to essential healthcare services could have particularly serious consequences for patients whose treatment cannot safely be postponed.

To address the situation, KNCHR called on the Ministry of Health and county governments to establish an emergency response mechanism covering the entire country.

Such a system would be intended to maintain critical and emergency medical services while negotiations aimed at ending the strike continue.

Maternity and neonatal healthcare should be among the highest priorities, according to the commission.

KNCHR also identified intensive care services, dialysis, cancer treatment, trauma care, ambulance services and patient referrals as areas that need to remain operational.

Ensuring continuity in these departments, the commission argued, could help prevent avoidable deterioration in patients' conditions while the labour dispute remains unresolved.

At the same time, KNCHR acknowledged that nurses have legitimate labour and constitutional rights that must be respected.

The commission recognised their right to fair employment practices, reasonable compensation and adequate working environments.

It also highlighted the rights of healthcare workers to participate in collective bargaining and undertake lawful industrial action.

KNCHR described nurses as a central part of Kenya's healthcare system whose contribution is essential to the functioning of hospitals and other medical facilities.

Because their work frequently involves demanding and potentially high-risk responsibilities, the commission said nurses should receive appropriate compensation and suitable working conditions.

KNCHR therefore called on national and county authorities to address agreements previously reached with nurses and other healthcare workers.

Among the agreements highlighted by the commission was the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The commission urged authorities to honour existing commitments and address outstanding concerns that have contributed to repeated labour disputes within the healthcare sector.

Health workers' unions were also asked to participate constructively in efforts to resolve the crisis.

KNCHR called on the Kenya National Union of Nurses and Midwives and other unions representing healthcare workers to continue negotiating their demands through structured discussions.

However, the commission also urged unions to consider ways of ensuring that emergency and essential healthcare services remain available while industrial action continues.

KNCHR said resolving the dispute would require cooperation between multiple institutions rather than leaving the matter solely to healthcare workers and their employers.

It called on the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Ministry of Health and Council of Governors to help facilitate negotiations.

The commission wants the discussions conducted in good faith and structured around a clear timeframe for resolving the outstanding disagreements.

A negotiated settlement, it argued, should protect nurses' employment rights while preventing further deterioration of healthcare services.

KNCHR said it would continue observing the effects of the strike across the country.

Its monitoring will include reports of patients experiencing delays in receiving treatment, being unable to obtain emergency medical assistance or facing interruptions to critical services.

The commission also intends to continue examining information surrounding the reported fatalities.

Determining the circumstances of those deaths remains important both for accountability and for understanding the broader consequences of disruptions within the healthcare system.

KNCHR maintains that protecting patients and respecting healthcare workers' rights should not be treated as competing objectives.

Instead, authorities and unions have been urged to reach an agreement that addresses nurses' grievances while ensuring Kenyans continue receiving essential and emergency medical care.

With the strike affecting healthcare delivery across the country, the commission says a rapid and coordinated response is necessary to reduce risks to vulnerable patients and prevent further disruption of critical medical services.