Africa-Press – Ethiopia. Health professionals from hospitals across Ethiopia, including university teaching institutions, say they have vacated their posts as a partial nationwide strike entered its fifth day. The walkouts continue despite the Ministry of Health’s statement that it has engaged in discussions with health workers to address their concerns.
A health professional at Wolkite University Specialized Hospital told Addis Standard that staff left the hospital on Friday evening following a directive from hospital and university officials instructing “10 interns and 8 residents to vacate the campus and dormitory” and return university-issued equipment.
“All interns and residents left immediately,” the professional said, adding they were “not given time to collect our belongings” and had to leave “without fully collecting our instruments due to intimidation.”
The source noted that “there was no arrest,” but confirmed that “all hospital staff have now left,” with only senior doctors remaining “to discharge the remaining patients.”
“We are asking the government to respond to our question,” the professional said, adding that “intimidation and arrests are not a solution.”
Health professionals have been on a partial strike since Tuesday, 13 May, demanding improved pay, better working conditions, and the protection of professional rights. The partial strike follows a coordinated online campaign under hashtags such as #HealthWorkersMatter and #PayHealthWorkersFairly, along with several pre-strike protests held across the country, raising demands that professionals say have remained unaddressed for over five years.
Another medical professional from the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital told Addis Standard that health workers began vacating the premises on Saturday, following what he described as “days of arrests, intimidation, and mounting pressure” since the partial strike began on Thursday, 13 May.
The source said that on the first day of the strike, “security forces and members of the hospital administration were seen patrolling the compound,” adding that health workers were “closely watched, intimidated, and threatened.” He reported that two staff members were detained that day—“a nurse named Mesfin and a radiology resident identified as Estegenet.”
“The arrests continued into Wednesday,” he said, reporting that “a surgical resident, Dr. Asrat, was also taken by security forces,” after which “interns stopped reporting for duty from Wednesday evening,” and “resident doctors joined the following morning.”
According to him, pressure intensified on Thursday. “Staff were summoned repeatedly for meetings,” he said, adding that “a nurse named Alebachew was also arrested that day.”
He described the evening of Thursday, 15 May, as particularly tense. “Around 10:00 p.m., police and militia entered the hospital compound and began knocking on the doors of health workers,” he said. “Those who opened were detained or threatened,” he continued, while “some doors were forcibly opened.”
He told Addis Standard that “by midnight, approximately 25 professionals had been detained,” including “senior physicians, specialists, and sub-specialists.” Among those detained, he said, was “a South Sudanese obstetrician and gynecology resident, Dr. Abraham Abok.”
He stated that the detainees remained in custody until the following day. “We visited them on Friday,” he said, adding that “reports indicated both Nurse Alebachew and Dr. Abok were released on Saturday morning.”
The health professional reported that on Saturday, 17 May, the hospital administration issued a directive instructing interns and residents to “return to work by 12:00 p.m. or vacate the compound by 8:00 p.m.”
“Since then,” he said, “interns and resident physicians have started vacating the hospital.”
Similarly, Deutsche Welle ( DW) reported on Friday that intern doctors and residents at Hawassa University College of Medical and Health Sciences have left the campus after receiving a 12-hour deadline issued by the university,. DW quoted the health professionals saiing thag the college posted a notice stating that “if you are not at your work post by 2:00Pm tomorrow [ Saturday], leave the campus.”
According to the report, “most intern doctors and residents left ” while “only a few nurses remained.” DW quoted the doctors as saying that before the notice, although several meetings had been held to encourage a return to duty, “aside from emergency unit staff, most professionals did not resume work” and are now facing “threats, arrests, and harassment.”
The departure of health professionals from hospitals across Ethiopia comes despite the Ministry of Health’s claim that it has held a second round of discussions with leaders of professional associations “regarding current health service delivery and professional issues.”
In a statement released on 16 May 2025, the Ministry said the meeting aimed to explore how concerns could be “presented appropriately and legally.” It also stressed that health services must continue “without interruption” and in line with “professional ethics.”
The Ministry had earlier issued a warning to professionals involved in the ongoing partial strike, stating that “strikes in the health sector are legally prohibited” and vowing legal consequences for those “who refuse to return to work.”
In its latest statement, the Ministry said understandings were reached to strengthen “cooperation and coordination” with stakeholders, describing the talks as part of the government’s “ongoing discussions at various levels” to find “shared solutions for common challenges” and ensure the “sustainability” of the health sector.
However, an active representative of the health professionals’ movement told Addis Standard that “the Ministry didn’t have any discussion with our representatives” and added that it “didn’t make an official call for negotiations.”
Amnesty International previously raised concern over what it described as a “crackdown” on health workers during the strike. In a statement shared with Addis Standard on 15 May, the organization said healthcare workers were being “arbitrarily rounded up” by security forces in multiple locations across Ethiopia.
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