The Government of Kenya has ordered all morticians to be registered and licensed by the end of the month or they will not be allowed to operate. Kenya Health Professions Oversight Authority (KHPOA) says the move will ensure a high standard of professionalism is maintained in the sector.
“To be registered you must have undergone thorough training from recognized health institutions,” said Dominic Wambua, a representative from KHPOA. The authority has been mapping and registering morticians since last year and about 500 morticians have so far received formal training.
KHPOA has been working closely with the Morticians and Allied Professionals Association of Kenya (MAPAKe) to ensure all morticians are trained and registered as health professionals. KHPOA, MAPAKe, and The Nairobi Women’s Hospital came together today to commemorate World Mortician Recognition Day which is celebrated every 11th of March.
This is the first time in Kenya that such an event has been held with this year’s theme being “The Last Responders”. At the moment, there are only certificate programs for teaching and training morticians at different training institutions.
“We have done a revision of the curriculum and we will soon offer diploma courses for morticians,” said a representative from Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital.
N/B: A Mortician is a professional who is responsible for preparing deceased people before a wake, funeral, or burial. They do this by embalming them and performing other cosmetic enhancements before casketing them.
