The Ethiopian Health Professionals Association has given a 10-day ultimatum to the Ministry of Health, demanding urgent reform, fair compensation, and dignified working conditions for the health professionals across the country.
In a letter seen by APA on Tuesday, the association outlined 12 demands and warned that legal action will follow if the government fails to respond by 11 May.
“We would like to inform you that if we do not receive a satisfactory response to these demands, we are prepared to take appropriate legal measures,” the letter read.
The letter, signed on behalf of health professionals across the country, said Ethiopia’s frontline caregivers have faced low pay, housing problems, inadequate medical coverage, and what they describe as a “life below human dignity.”
Despite years of sacrifice and risk, especially in the face of incurable communicable diseases, the professionals said they are being “exploited and ignored.”
The warning came after a recent Online campaign by the health professionals under slogans #HealthWorkersMatter, #PayHealthWorkersFairly, and #HealthForAll across the country echoing the same demands they have raised over the past five years.
The organisers said they were preparing to submit a letter to the authorities listing ten key demands, accompanied by a deadline – and warned that a strike could follow if their demands are not met.
”The rising cost of living prompted us to initiate a coordinated social media campaign,” one health professional told the Addis Standard.
“The question is solely a matter of rights, not a political one,” he stated.
“The primary and foremost demand is that the income of health professionals is low relative to their workload and is not commensurate with the cost of living” he added.
The ongoing campaign, which has resonated widely across the country through various social media, is serving as a digital rallying cry for a profession that has endured years of economic hardship and neglect.
MG/as/APA