Official Announcement from the Ethiopian Healthcare Professionals Movement (EHPM)
Issued: May 15, 2025 | Addis Ababa
FULL STRIKE LAUNCH — URGENT CALL TO ACTION
Dear Esteemed Healthcare Professionals and Concerned Citizens, After weeks of tireless advocacy, over 17,000 of us signed a formal petition addressing 12 essential survival demands. We submitted it to all relevant government institutions and granted a 30-day deadline for a response.
That deadline has expired—and the government has responded with silence.
In good faith, we began a partial strike to avoid immediate harm to the public. Still, the authorities refused to acknowledge our suffering:
- Wages below subsistence levels
- Unaffordable cost of living
- Inability to house, clothe, or feed our families
- A health system on the brink
Instead of dialogue, we’ve faced intimidation, threats, harassment, and unlawful arrests of our colleagues—simply for demanding basic human rights.
EFFECTIVE MONDAY, MAY 19, 2025:
We declare a full, indefinite national strike of all healthcare professionals until our demands are addressed.
Key Directives:
- Refer to the attached schedule for institutional guidelines.
- If your hospital or center faces security threats or interference, begin the full strike immediately for the safety of all staff.
- Responsibility for all consequences lies with the Government of Ethiopia, the Ministry of Health, regional health bureaus, hospital administrations, and the security apparatus.
