Zimbabwean health workers have left the country in droves over the past year, a senior official at the Health Services Board (HSB) revealed on Sunday.
More than 4,000 health workers have left since 2021, HSB chairperson Dr Paulinus Sikosana told Reuters. This includes more than 1,700 registered nurses who resigned last year and more than 900 who left this year.
Health workers went on strike in June demanding to be paid in U.S. dollars as inflation further weakened the local currency.
Doctors and nurses in Zimbabwe have found work mainly in Britain, leaving the country’s health sector in dire straits and local hospitals understaffed.
June strike
In June, hundreds of Zimbabwe’s public sector health workers have gone on strike over low wages and poor working conditions. Nurses, senior doctors and radiographers are among those who withdraw their services.
Video: On going public sector strike in Zimbabwe: Ephert Musekiwa, 22 June 2022
