HARARE, Zimbabwe — Scores of nurses have demonstrated in Zimbabwe’s capital after the government fired 16,000 of them from public hospitals for demanding better working conditions and higher pay.
Friday’s protest in which the nurses offered a free clinic to passers-by was a test of the new government’s attitude toward public demonstrations. Police looked on but did not interfere.
The collapsed economy is a major challenge facing President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took office in November after a military intervention ended Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule. Mugabe’s government responded harshly to protests.
The mass firing of nurses has led to the shutdown of major public hospitals, weakening an already dire health sector across the country. – Washington Post
