Volunteer doctors to down tools this Friday

Dr Chibwe said earlier this year, following a nationwide halt in service delivery by unemployed health workers, the Ministry of Health assured all stakeholders that the recruitment of doctors and other health workers would be completed within 2025.

He notes that that assurance was further reinforced through the Presidential Address, which restored hope not only among volunteer doctors but also among communities who rely on these essential service.

“In good faith and out of deep loyalty to the Zambian people, volunteer doctors returned to their posts.

“They did so not because conditions had improved, but because lives were at stake. Their commitment has been unwavering, their sacrifice unquestionable,” Dr Chibwe said.

He says, however, that as of yesterday,
with only 23 days remaining in the year, that commitment to recruit doctors has not been met with the clarity or action it deserves.

“This silence has become a source of emotional and professional injury, not only to those who returned out of hope, but also to the patients who look to them for care,” Dr Chibwe said.

He said the situation has reached a point where these young doctors feel abandoned and RDAZ cannot remain indifferent to their struggle.

“Therefore, after wide consultations and with deep regret, the Resident Doctors Association of Zambia informs all stakeholders that all volunteer doctors across the country will down tools effective Friday, 19th December 2025,”.Dr Chibwe said.

He said this decision is not a strike against the nation, but “a cry for dignity, for clarity and for fairness.

“No health system can thrive on unpaid labour. No professional can continue indefinitely without security, recognition or a future,” Dr Chibwe said.

(Mwebantu, Tuesday. 9th December, 2025)