Hundreds of doctors and health service providers organized a rally on Sunday which began outside the Doctors Syndicate headquarters and headed to cabinet headquarters on Qasr al-Aini Street in downtown Cairo. The protesters demanded the resignation of Health Minister Ashraf Hatem, and a fair wage system for all employees, hospital security, and increasing the Ministry of Health’s budget to amount to 15 percent of the general budget.
Protesters chanted slogans such as, “Minimum wage for those living in graves,” “The stadium is protected by a tank and the hospital is without a gate,” and “We want a budget increase and improved healthcare services.” They also chanted for the “fall” of the president of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, Hamdy al-Sayed.
A member of the higher committee of the strike, Rashwan Shaaban, criticized Sayed’s statement that the budget will only increase by LE10 billion. Shaaban said Sayed “does not represent” doctors, and objected to the government’s disregard of citizens' health.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
