Doctors in Kenya began a nationwide strike Thursday, accusing the government of failing to address their grievances, including calls for promotions and the posting of more than 4,000 medical interns.

The strike has paralyzed medical services in hospitals across the East African nation as patients were left unattended.

Areas affected by the strike include Nakuru, Kwale, Kilifi, Migori and Mombasa counties.

The Secretary-General of Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Davji Atellah said they resorted to industrial action after talks with the government failed. "Our seven-day strike notice shall expire and our industrial action will begin," he stated Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Employment and Labor Relations Court stopped the strike and asked the involved parties to engage in dialogue to address the grievances.

"We are suffering, I have been here for many hours and there are no doctors. The government should resolve the crisis faster," said Peter Njiru, a patient from Nakuru, 160 km to the northwest of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

(Cover: A surgeon performs a cornea transplant surgery on a patient at a hospital in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, August 12, 2023. /CFP)