Dr. Nabwire's
5-Point Plan
Building the financial future of KMPDU.
A Union Built Through Struggle Must Be Financially Prepared for the Future
Five years ago, you entrusted me with the responsibility of serving as the National Treasurer of our union. I accepted that responsibility knowing that the finances of KMPDU are the material foundation of our struggle.
Over the years, our union has defended doctors in times of industrial action, legal challenges, political hostility, and a deepening crisis in Kenya's healthcare system. We have stood firm because our members have remained committed, because our leadership has remained accountable, and because our collective resources have enabled the union to act.
But the coming years will demand even more from us. We are operating in an era of austerity, hostility toward workers, privatization pressures, and growing instability in the health sector. At the same time, KMPDU must expand its reach, strengthen its welfare systems, defend the profession more effectively, and build a stronger generation of leaders.
As I seek your support for re-election as National Treasurer of KMPDU, I do so with a clear and practical vision: to strengthen and stabilize the financial future of our union.
This manifesto sets out that vision.
Official Campaign Launch
Watch Dr. Mercy's Launch Address
Dr. Nabwire's 5-Point Plan
Building the Financial Future of KMPDU.
Expanding Membership, Expanding Revenue, Expanding Power
One of the greatest threats to the long-term strength of KMPDU is the fact that thousands of doctors in Kenya still practice outside the protection of the union.
Our mapping has shown that nearly 8,000 doctors across the country are currently not unionized. Many of them work in private hospitals, faith-based facilities, pharmaceutical industries, NGOs, locum arrangements, and other precarious spaces where working conditions remain unregulated and where doctors often face exploitation in isolation.
This is both an organizing challenge and a financial challenge. A union whose membership is limited to only a section of the profession will always have a narrower revenue base, a smaller bargaining footprint, and less national influence than one that represents the majority of doctors in the country.
My Proposals
Launch a national organizing drive across both public and private sectors
Over the next five years, KMPDU should run a structured membership expansion campaign targeting doctors in private hospitals, faith-based facilities, NGOs, and other non-unionized spaces.
Develop a county-by-county organizing plan
Using our existing mapping, each branch and region should have clear organizing targets showing where unorganized doctors are located, how many they are, and how recruitment will be coordinated.
Establish a private sector and non-unionized doctors' organizing desk
KMPDU should create a dedicated national coordination point to support organizing in the private sector and other underrepresented areas of the profession.
Introduce branch-based membership growth targets
Branches should be supported and encouraged to recruit and retain members through clear annual targets and organizing support.
Financial Impact
Organizing the unorganized is one of the most important ways to strengthen the financial future of KMPDU. A larger membership base will:
- Broaden our revenue
- Reduce overdependence on current contributors
- Provide the resources needed to sustain legal defense, campaigns, organizing, and welfare
“A stronger union economy begins with a larger union membership.”
Building a Resilient Union Economy
Union resources are a strategic tool. They enable us to defend members in court, mobilize during industrial disputes, support organizing, coordinate national campaigns, and maintain the institutional strength of KMPDU.
Over the years, our union has demonstrated the value of collective contribution. But the future will require us to move beyond short-term survival and toward long-term financial planning. We need a union economy that is disciplined, transparent, and resilient.
My Proposals
Develop a 3–5 year financial sustainability strategy
KMPDU should adopt a medium-term financial plan setting clear targets for revenue growth, expenditure management, reserves, organizing investment, and welfare obligations.
Build a strategic reserve fund
A defined portion of annual revenue should be set aside to strengthen our ability to respond to emergencies, litigation, industrial action, and national campaigns.
Institutionalize quarterly financial reporting
Members and leadership should receive clear, simplified financial updates on a regular basis to deepen trust, accountability, and transparency.
Improve dues tracking and revenue systems
We should strengthen systems for dues remittance, branch compliance, arrears follow-up, and membership database integration to reduce leakage and improve predictability.
Audit and strengthen branch remittance systems
Where there are gaps or inefficiencies in revenue collection and remittance, these must be identified and corrected.
Financial Impact
These measures will:
- Increase revenue predictability
- Strengthen financial discipline
- Improve member confidence
- Ensure that KMPDU has the capacity to act decisively when members need it most
Preparing the Union to Confront Political and Economic Hostility
Doctors in Kenya are practicing under growing strain. Government austerity, shrinking health budgets, delayed salaries, understaffed hospitals, commercialization of care, and deepening attacks on healthcare workers are all increasing pressure on the profession.
In this context, KMPDU must remain a strong defender of doctors and of the public health system. But that defense cannot rely on courage alone. It requires resources.
My Proposals
Create a ring-fenced legal defense and litigation budget
KMPDU should maintain a protected line item for legal defense, labor disputes, and strategic litigation affecting doctors and the profession.
Establish a strike preparedness fund
The union should strengthen its financial readiness for industrial action, emergency mobilization, and major political confrontations.
Invest in national advocacy against austerity and privatization
Our union budget should support sustained policy advocacy and public campaigns against underfunding, outsourcing, and the erosion of public healthcare.
Financial Impact
A union that can defend its members consistently is a union that members trust. That trust strengthens:
- Member retention
- Recruitment of non-members
- The legitimacy of dues contributions
- The long-term stability of the union
Building a Union That Stands With Its Members in Life's Hardest Moments
The KMPDU Benevolence Fund reflects one of the deepest principles of trade unionism: solidarity. It has supported members, their spouses, and their children during moments of loss and bereavement. It reminds us that our union is also a community of care beyond being a fighting institution.
As we strengthen our financial future, we must also think about how to deepen that solidarity. Many doctors in Kenya carry major responsibilities toward their parents and extended families. It is therefore time to consider whether our welfare model should evolve to reflect that reality.
My Proposals
Commission a financial and actuarial review of the welfare fund
Before expanding benefits, KMPDU should undertake a formal review of the fund's sustainability, contribution structure, claims trends, and projected obligations.
Explore phased inclusion of parents
Rather than a sudden expansion, we should consider a phased model for including parents, with clear eligibility criteria and regular review.
Consider a clearly defined contribution structure for expanded benefits
If necessary, the union can consult members on an additional or tiered welfare contribution model tied to expanded support.
Improve claims administration and communication
The welfare fund should be made easier to understand, easier to access, and more efficient in its response to members.
Use the welfare fund as part of a membership retention strategy
A stronger welfare system strengthens the bond between members and the union and reinforces the value of collective membership.
Financial Impact
A stronger welfare system can contribute to revenue stability by:
- Improving member retention
- Deepening loyalty
- Increasing willingness to contribute
- Strengthening the attractiveness of union membership
A More Inclusive Union Is a Stronger and More Sustainable Union
Since the inception of KMPDU, one disturbing pattern has repeated itself: after elections, the number of women leaders in both the NAC and NEC tends to decline.
This is not because women lack the ability to lead. Women doctors have consistently shown commitment, courage, and organizational talent within the profession and within the union. The real issue is that our structures have not done enough to nurture, protect, and retain female leadership.
If KMPDU is to remain strong and representative in the future, this must change.
My Proposals
Establish a women's leadership development program within KMPDU
The union should intentionally create pathways for women doctors to develop into branch, national, and strategic leaders.
Build a formal mentorship system for women leaders
Experienced women leaders should be connected with emerging leaders for mentorship, support, and political development.
Adopt representation benchmarks in committees and leadership spaces
Women's meaningful participation should be strengthened across committees, delegations, working groups, and leadership development initiatives.
Create campaign support mechanisms for women candidates
The union should develop support structures to help women contest leadership positions with confidence and backing.
Strengthen the internal culture of the union to better support women leaders
This means ensuring that women are not only elected, but retained, respected, and enabled to thrive in office.
Financial Impact
A union that nurtures women's leadership becomes more inclusive, more legitimate, and more stable. This strengthens:
- Member participation
- Recruitment of younger and underrepresented doctors
- Leadership continuity
- Long-term institutional sustainability
“A more inclusive union is a stronger union economy.”
The Financial Future of KMPDU Must Be Built Deliberately
The financial future of KMPDU will not be secured by treasury work alone. It will be secured by strategy. It will be secured by growing our membership, strengthening our financial systems, defending the profession, deepening welfare, and nurturing inclusive leadership.
That is the vision I place before you.
A KMPDU that is:
- Larger
- Stronger
- More disciplined
- More inclusive
- More financially stable
A KMPDU ready not only for the battles of today, but for the next decade of struggle ahead.
I ask for your support as we continue building that future together.
Dr. Mercy Nabwire
Candidate for National Treasurer — KMPDU
Scorecard: Her Record
Proven track record as KMPDU National Treasurer.
Union resources deployed nationwide to support demonstrations, strike logistics, and legal defence — including KSh 8 million allocated to support the Kiambu doctors' industrial action.
- Nationwide industrial action funding and coordination
- KSh 8 million allocated to Kiambu doctors' action
- Comprehensive legal defence for members in dispute
- Strike logistics support across all regions
Consistent and timely disbursement of funds to KMPDU branches nationwide to sustain operations and member services across all regions of Kenya.
- Timely and predictable fund disbursement to all branches
- Sustained operational support nationwide
- Reliable member services maintained across all regions
- Strengthened branch financial accountability
Financed steward training, workshops, and branch meetings to strengthen negotiation, organizing, and case management capacity across the union.
- Steward training programs funded across branches
- Negotiation and organizing workshops nationwide
- Branch meeting support and facilitation
- Case management capacity strengthened across the union
Strategic expansion of union membership and structure in historically underserved regions — bringing hundreds of doctors under union protection for the first time.
- Wajir: 80 doctors mapped, 53 recruited in one week
- Mandera: 60 doctors mapped
- Garissa: 129 doctors mapped
- Garissa Regional Office established — fully furnished with operational secretariat
Strategic engagement with Government, Parliament, the Council of Governors, and civil society to advance CBA implementation, resolve salary arrears, and strengthen doctors' labour rights nationwide.
- Government negotiations on CBA implementation
- Parliamentary engagement on healthcare policy
- Council of Governors coordination on county-level issues
- Civil society alliance building for health worker rights
Doctors' issues amplified through radio, television, and digital platforms to strengthen public awareness and policy influence, ensuring the union's voice reaches the public and decision-makers.
- Radio and television appearances on doctors' rights issues
- Digital media campaigns to raise public awareness
- Media briefings during industrial actions
- Policy messaging to reach Parliament and government
Through Dr. Mercy Nabwire's global labour and policy connections, KMPDU has strengthened collaboration with international health worker unions and labour institutions.
- UNISON — UK health worker union partnership
- Public Services International (PSI) — global collaboration
- Solidarity Center (AFL-CIO) — strategic engagement
- Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), FNV, SEIU, and African healthcare unions
This Manifesto Needs Your Support
Join our movement to make this vision a reality.