Government finally raises doctors’ salaries

The Zambian government has raised the salaries of medical doctors and nurses by between 15 and 155 percent, AFP reported on Monday, quoting health minister Enoch Kavindele. The lowest paid medical doctor in Zambia will now earn a monthly salary of about US $500. The increments comes nearly two years after the country’s more than 300 junior doctors went on a protracted strike that forced the Zambian government to sack them. The doctors, however, were later reinstated. “The salary increments for our medical staff have been necessitated by our aid donors who have agreed to help us meet some of our salary obligations,” Kavindele told AFP. He said the Zambian government had taken the move to cut the number of medical practitioners who were leaving Zambia to look for better working conditions in neighbouring countries and further afield. Kavindele said the government would try to lure back doctors who have already sought greener pastures abroad.