Sierra Leone Doctors protest after 10 colleagues die from Ebola

 

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Junior doctors in Sierra Leone went on strike Monday to demand better treatment for health workers who become infected withEbola, a health official said.

The association representing junior doctors asked the government to make sure life-saving equipment, like dialysis machines, is available to treat infected doctors. The government has promised that a special treatment unit for health care workers will open soon and will be fully equipped. But the doctors began their strike anyway, according to Health Ministry spokesman Jonathan Abass Kamara.

Ten of the 11 Sierra Leonean doctors who have become infected have died. Ebola has killed about 6,200 people, including hundreds of health workers. Throughout the outbreak in West Africa, health care workers have periodically gone on strike to demand better protection or higher pay.

In an effort to make sure health workers get top-notch treatment, special centers dedicated to their treatment have already opened in Liberia and Sierra Leone… (read more)