Nairobi, Aug. 10 -- The counties' health workforce shrank 26 percent in the financial year 2025/26, leaving the devolved governments scrambling to replace tens of thousands of frontline workers as donor-funded programmes wind down.

New disclosures show that healthcare workforce fell to 98,907 from 149,447 the previous year, a loss of 50,540 workers, according to the 2026 State of Devolution Address.

Most of the drop, about 41,000 workers, is attributed to the termination of US government programmes, including 28,600 frontline healthcare workers.

The figures exclude workers in national referral hospitals, as well as those in faith-based and private facilities.

The overall reduction also reflects the transfer of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga T...