Zimbabwe Doctors Strike Over Working Conditions, Drugs Shortage
Zimbabwe Doctors Strike Over Working Conditions, Drugs Shortage
(Bloomberg) -- Doctors at state-run Zimbabwean hospitals began a strike to demand better working conditions, saying inadequate pay, a shortage of drugs and a deteriorating health-care system need immediate government attention.
The work stoppage compounds an economic crisis that Zimbabwean banks have warned may spawn a hyper-inflationary spiral, similar to one the country experienced a decade ago. As a shortage of foreign-exchange leaves the government unable to import basic raw materials like food and fuel, doctors are facing an “acute shortage” of medicines and equipment, according to a statement emailed by the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association.
“Doctors are now finding it impossible to continue discharging their services in hospitals,” the association’s national committee said in the Dec. 1 statement.
To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Latham in Harare at blatham@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, Paul Richardson, Alastair Reed
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