The Ministry of Health’s new resolution introduces scaled monthly allowances for Kuwaiti nursing and midwifery personnel that take into account job titles, experience and promotions, with the highest rate set at KD 1,510 for head nursing or midwifery specialists. These payments bundle multiple components including work nature allowance, job level bonus, incentive allowance, cost of living allowance, shift allowance, supervision allowance, training allowance and on-call allowance. The framework also creates technically graded joint job titles across nursing and midwifery positions to clarify career paths and compensation structures.
Senior nursing specialist and senior midwifery specialist roles will receive KD 1,430 monthly under the resolution while nursing specialist and midwifery specialist positions qualify for KD 1,350. Senior nurse and senior midwife titles receive KD 1,170 with nurse and midwife staff receiving KD 1,110 and assistant nurse and assistant midwife positions set at KD 1,040. The resolution applies these rates exclusively to Kuwaiti staff in the specified grades.
Non-Kuwaiti nursing and midwifery personnel will receive a different package of allowances that still incorporates work nature allowance, job level bonus, cost of living allowance, shift allowance, supervision allowance and training bonus for the most senior categories. Senior nurse, nurse and assistant nurse roles for non-Kuwaitis include work nature allowance, job level bonus, cost of living allowance and on-call allowance according to the same resolution. These differentiated rates reflect varying contractual frameworks for expatriate health workers.
Nursing services technicians fall under separate allowance schedules in the resolution with Kuwaiti senior technicians eligible for a work nature allowance up to KD 230 in category A plus job level bonus of KD 160, incentive bonus of KD 240, incentive increase of KD 80, cost of living allowance of KD 120 and on-call allowance of KD 160. Kuwaiti nursing services technicians receive slightly lower figures including a work nature allowance up to KD 210 in category A and corresponding reductions in other components. Non-Kuwaiti technicians in both senior and standard grades receive smaller amounts across work nature allowance, job level bonus, cost of living allowance and on-call allowance.
The resolution further approves special bonuses for Kuwaiti holders of specialized university degrees in nursing or midwifery that range from KD 500 for senior specialists down to KD 100 for nurses and midwives provided the certificates are officially equivalent and field-related. Academic qualification bonuses add KD 150 monthly for Kuwaiti nurses with a PhD and KD 75 for a master’s degree while non-Kuwaiti nurses receive KD 50 and KD 25 respectively for the same qualifications. All bonuses remain tied to the requirement that the degrees directly support nursing practice.
This adjustment continues a series of measures to strengthen the nursing workforce that included a 2023 reclassification by the health ministry which increased the nature of work allowance by an average of KD 50 for approximately 10,000 nurses according to contemporaneous reports from Times Kuwait. The Ministry of Health has pursued such increments in recent years to improve retention and recruitment as the sector faces sustained demand. World Health Organization estimates place the projected global shortage of nurses at 4.5 million by 2030 with the Eastern Mediterranean region among those confronting significant gaps.
