Zimbabwe fears US withdrawal from WHO will hit HIV/AIDS programmes
Zimbabwe doctors say hospitals are ‘death traps’
7:03 CAT | 27 Nov 2019
More than 400 junior doctors have been fired after withdrawing their services. [AFP]
Zimbabwe’s senior doctors have released a scathing statement explaining why they are joining their junior colleagues in not turning up to work.
They are protesting against the sacking of hundreds of doctors who have been fired because of their strike over poor wages in the worsening economic situation.
In a statement, referring to the bad state of healthcare, the senior doctors said that a “silent genocide continues to be perpetrated upon the people of Zimbabwe”.
It details the lack of drugs and equipment that doctors have to deal with and says that conditions are no longer safe for treating patients.
“The hospitals continue to be poorly stocked and remain a death trap.”
The statement adds:
” We are not slaves. We are not greedy mercenaries. We deserve proper tools of the trade, a living wage and a safe working environment. The citizens of Zimbabwe deserve a health system they can trust.”
Senior doctors in Zimbabwe join strike
Senior doctors in Zimbabwe have gone on strike in protest against the sackings of hundreds of junior doctors who have boycotted work in a pay dispute.
The senior doctors’ association, SDHA, said they would stop all emergency services until their junior colleagues have been reinstated.
More than 400 junior doctors have been fired after withdrawing their services. They are demanding a 500% salary increase, as a cushion against triple digit inflation.
Nurses in clinics have also been on strike, demanding a living wage.
Many patients have been turned away; some have been sent home to die.
Source: BBC
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