Ethiopian authorities must immediately engage in negotiations with striking healthcare professionals, unconditionally release those detained in relation to the ongoing peaceful strike and end harassment and intimidation against the medics, Amnesty International said today.
“With no resolution in sight, the strike has entered its second week, causing massive disruption to the provision of much needed healthcare services across the country. The government must not further prolong the crisis that has severely restricted patients’ right to access healthcare across the country. Instead, both the government and healthcare professionals must engage collectively and constructively in negotiations to settle this dispute,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
“Now is not the time for grandstanding and draconian clampdowns. Authorities must urgently come to the negotiation table, with the aim of resolving outstanding issues and allowing resumption of healthcare services.”
On May 22, an online movement of healthcare professionals sent Amnesty International a list of 212 professionals who have been arrested across the country since the strike began on May 12, 2025.
Amnesty International was able to independently verify the incommunicado detention of 20 professionals inside Addis Ababa Police Headquarters. The organization also interviewed three lawyers and three family members of detained healthcare workers and reviewed court documentation to substantiate these findings.
Family members and lawyers interviewed said detainees were arrested without being informed of the reasons for their arrest and detention. Police also searched their homes without presenting a search warrant, citing a “search for weapons and explosives.” Those interviewed by Amnesty International reported that only electronic devices were confiscated during the search operation.
Among those detained incommunicado is Dr. Mahlet Guuesh, a pathologist who was not actively employed at the time of the strike. Dr Mahlet was interviewed in a BBC podcast where she shared her experience a few days before her detention.
“The incommunicado detention of at least 20 healthcare professionals at the Addis Ababa Police Commission headquarters for demanding adequate pay and conducive working conditions is shameful and deeply troubling. The police’s baseless allegations of incitement to violence reflect a disturbing authoritarian pattern of using arbitrary detention to silence dissent and intimidate those who speak out for their rights.”
The three family members interviewed by Amnesty International expressed deep concerns for the well-being of their loved ones detained, as the Addis Ababa Police Commission continues to defy court orders permitting visitation.
“Arbitrarily detaining those who hold different opinions from authorities has become common practice in Ethiopia and here we see it used against medical professionals striking for better pay and conditions,” said Tigere Chagutah.
Amnesty International calls on the Ethiopian government to cease its crackdown on healthcare workers lawfully exercising their right to peaceful assembly, and to release all those arbitrarily detained for speaking out for their rights. The Ethiopian authorities must also end all forms of crackdown on dissent, including targeting human rights defenders and journalists.
Amnesty International also urges Ethiopia’s development partners to increase bilateral support to strengthen Ethiopia’s healthcare system and defend the rights of healthcare professionals engaged in peaceful protest amid the global foreign aid cuts that have impacted various African countries.
“Authorities should take urgent steps to ensure they are allocating the maximum available resources to critical public services, such as health, in line with the government’s international human rights obligations,” said Tigere Chagutah.
Background
Healthcare professionals in Ethiopia have engaged in negotiations for over five years concerning fair pay, improved working conditions and better institutional support. Despite their critical role in safeguarding public health, specialist doctors in Ethiopia earn only USD 80 per month on average, with general practitioners, nurses and other medical professionals earning even less on average.
Key concerns around the absence of a functional health insurance system, inadequate compensation for occupational hazards and significant delays in receiving salary have been repeatedly raised by Ethiopia’s healthcare professionals.
These concerns have been compounded in recent years, due to the sharp decline in Ethiopia’s healthcare spending, which fell to a record low in the last decade of 2.85% of GDP in 2022. This is far below the 15% required by the Abuja Declaration.
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