Scores of Zimbabwe nurses on Friday protested in Harare's central city park after the government dismissed them for striking over low salaries and poor working conditions. The nurses, who wore their white uniforms, demanded the government reverse its decision to fire the majority of the 15,000 nurses after they took industrial action on Monday. Their walk-out came shortly after doctors ended a month-long strike last week.
"We want to go back to work but we cannot go back when we do not have enough resources," Pretty Gudza, a Harare-based nurse told AFP. "We are putting our lives at risk."
Government hospitals are failing to stock drugs, forcing patients to buy from private pharmacies, she said. Charles Murira, a midwife, said the situation in hospitals was dire following government's decision to fire the nurses. "The situation is so bad, patients are dying.