Togo: Hospital workers call for 2-day strike

By Alphonse Logo

LOME, Togo (AA) - Healthcare practitioners in Togo on Wednesday started a nationwide two-day strike to protest the lack of adequate equipment in hospitals, a union official told Anadolu Agency.

The Union of Togolese Hospital Practitioners (Synphot) said it would ensure minimum service, especially for emergency cases, during the strike.

Dr. Gilbert Tsolegnanou, Synphot's deputy secretary-general, said the call was motivated by "the lack of personnel and outdated infrastructures" in hospitals across the West African nation.

Only minimal service will be guaranteed in all public hospitals in the country during these two days, according to Synphot.

"We speak of emergency only when it is vital… Our agents will take care of the patients," Tsolegnanou said.

"Those who do not need emergency care are kindly asked not to go to hospitals."

"On Friday, we'll get back to work and we'll see what we can do for them," he said.

These strikes of Togolese health personnel follow several sit-ins since the beginning of the year.

On Jan. 3, the day of the first sit-in, hospital practitioners said they were "tired of seeing patients die without being able to save them".

Since its creation in 2005, Synphot has been putting pressure on the Togolese government to provide the country with a quality healthcare system.