Dozens of young Egyptian doctors protested outside the Ministry of Health in Cairo on Saturday to demand higher wages, better medical service for citizens, and the dismissal of corrupt leaders within the ministry.
The Young Doctors Movement announced last week that the demonstration was a part-time strike which they plan to escalate over the next three days if their demands are not met.
The Egypt's Doctors Coalition page on Facebook announced Saturday that several hospitals in various governorates will be participating in the strike, including Minya, Gharbiya, Suez and Cairo.
On Thursday Health Minister Amr Helmy pledged to raise doctors' wages in the near future and promised to discuss the rest of their demands.
Regarding the dismissal of corrupt leaders, Helmy said reports by the Administrative Control Authority evaluating the performance of Health Ministry staff show their efficiency and integrity.
In a decision that is the first of its kind, Helmy decided to return retired doctors to work temporarily in all state-run hospitals in order to care for patients during the strike.
Helmy said on Saturday that the retired doctors have already started work in hospitals, and announced emergency measures to ensure that patients' medical service is not affected by the strike.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
