TO: The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Health
CC: The Prime Minister's Office, Minister of Health, Civil Service Commission, International Community, and the People of Ethiopia
SUBJECT: An Urgent Final Appeal: The Survival of Ethiopia's Health Professionals is at Stake
💥FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE💥
Dear Fellow Ethiopians, esteemed officials, and the international community,
For years, we, the Ethiopian Health Professionals, have served our nation with unwavering dedication, often at great personal sacrifice. We have endured long years of study and face daily risks to save lives. Yet, we are pushed into poverty, our basic rights ignored, and our pleas for dignity met with silence.
This ends now.
Today, we publicly issue our final formal grievances. We have exhausted all internal channels. Our patience has run out. The following are our non-negotiable demands for a sustainable and dignified professional life:
Our Core Demands:
1. Livable Wage: A minimum monthly salary of ~$1,000, competitive with other neighboring African nations.
2. Fair Overtime Pay: Immediate and standardized payment for overtime work, as per the law. No more delays of over a year!
3. Risk & Housing Allowance: An urgent revision of the 30-year-stagnant incentive package, including realistic housing and hazard pay.
4. Transportation Justice: Free/subsidized public transport or a fair allowance. Duty-free vehicle import rights for efficient emergency response.
5. Protection from Abuse: An end to threats and intimidation against professionals claiming their rightful benefits. Legal action against defamatory media campaigns.
6. Free Healthcare for Us & Our Families: We who care for you deserve to be cared for when we are sick.
7. Affordable Housing: Land allocation and cooperative housing schemes, not insulting requests for 500,000+ Birr down payments.
8. Safe Work Environment: An end to unjust disciplinary measures and a guarantee of workplace safety.
9. International Exam Centers: Establish centers in Ethiopia for USMLE, PLAB, etc.
10. Merit-Based Leadership: An end to corrupt, favoritism-based appointments in health institutions.
11. Health Sector Autonomy: Remove the health sector from the restrictive Civil Service Commission and place it under an independent, knowledgeable body.
Our Final Deadline:
We have given the Ministry of Health and the Ethiopian government *20 days* from the original letter dated Tahisas 1, 2018 (E.C.) to provide a tangible and appropriate response.
If we do not receive a satisfactory response by the deadline, we will have no choice but to begin a SECOND ROUND OF A NATIONWIDE STRIKE effective Monday, December 15, 2025 (Tahisas 6, 2018 E.C.).
This is not our desire, but our last resort. We can no longer watch our profession be devalued and our families suffer while we bear the weight of a broken system.
We call on all Ethiopians, the media, human rights organizations, and the international community to stand with us in our fight for justice and for a better health system for ALL.
💥Formal Letter is Attached with Signatures!
©️The Ethiopian Health Professionals Movement
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa