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Doctors and nurses strike continues
Sebastian Nyamhangambiri, Zimbabwejournalists.com
January 03, 2008

Visit the index of articles on the doctors' and nurses' strikes

http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=3379&cat=1

HARARE - Doctors and nurses at Zimbabwe's two major referral hospitals in Harare are still on strike since downing their tools last week demanding a review of their salaries and working conditions.

The strike is crippling the nation's struggling health delivery system.

A visit to the Harare Central and Parirenyatwa hospitals revealed that outpatients departments at the two biggest state hospitals in the capital were still closed for a week now with student nurses attending to emergency situations only.

Amon Siveregi, the President of the Hospital Doctors Association (HDA) said the strike was going to continue unless their demands were met.

"We have no solution in site so far," said Siveregi. "We might only call off the end of this week depending on the progress that the negotiation we are going to have with the Health Services Board (HSB).

The Dr. Lovemore Mbengeranwa-led HSB board was yesterday tight-lipped on the negotiations referring all referring question to Health Minister David Parirenyatwa.

Repeated efforts to get a comment from Parirenyatwa were fruitless as he did not answer his mobile phone while, his secretary said he was in series of meetings.

Sources within the HSB said they had not been sanctioned to effect an increase for health personnel.

"The truth is that there is no money with the board," said one HSB member. "We are still waiting for the Treasury to give us directions." Doctors and nurses interviewed from their residence at Parirenyatwa said yesterday said they would only go back to work when their demands are met.

"We have been promised salary reviews many times but nothing has materialised, so this time we will not return until something is put on paper," said one nurse.

Junior doctors are currently earning Z$40 million while nurses are earning $15 million, enough to buy just 15 loaves of poor quality bread.

Zimbabwe's health delivery system, once lauded as one of the best in Africa, has crumbled due to years of under-funding and mismanagement.

Hundreds of doctors and nurses have fled Zimbabwe over the past seven years to seek better paying jobs in neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Botswana. The United Kingdom is another major destination for Zimbabwe's hard-working health workers.

The exodus of trained medical staff has hit hard Zimbabwe's health delivery system which is also struggling to cope under an unprecedented economic recession described by the World Bank as unseen for a country not at war.

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