IN A NUTSHELL Editor's NoteA vibrant outburst here by Dr Melaku Kebede about perceived silent exploitation of Ethiopian doctors, as an addition to his recent complaint on PEAH focused on persistent unemployment and low motivation affecting health workers and the healthcare system in Ethiopia
Public Health Advocate
Head of Pediatrics Department at Olenchiti Hospital
Ethiopia
White Coats, Empty Pockets
The Silent Exploitation of Ethiopian Doctors
We wear the white coat. We hold the stethoscope. We carry the weight of life and death on our shoulders—yet many of us cannot even afford a pair of decent shoes.
In Ethiopia, doctors are revered in words but abandoned in reality. We heal the sick, yet we are broken. We work in hospitals drowning in bureaucracy, sweat, and blood, while our bank accounts remain empty.
We are called “heroes” during pandemics, disasters, and wars. But when the crisis passes, so do the promises. What remains? Insulting salaries. No housing. No health insurance. No respect. Is this what it means to serve?
We Ethiopian doctors are not asking for luxury—we are demanding dignity.
We are tired of begging for salary advances just to survive. Tired of skipping meals while saving lives. Tired of watching our colleagues flee to foreign lands just to earn enough to live like human beings. How long must we serve a system that refuses to serve us?
We don’t want more applause. We want health insurance.
We don’t want vague appreciation. We want fair wages.
We don’t want empty slogans. We want systemic reform.
A country that exploits its doctors is writing its own death certificate. Health systems don’t just collapse from a lack of medicine; they collapse when those who took an oath to heal are forced to leave, one by one, in silent protest.
We are not martyrs. We are professionals. And we will not stay silent.
This revolution will not begin in the streets—it will begin in every hospital where a doctor finally says, “Enough.” Enough of being overqualified and undervalued. Enough of pretending that self-sacrifice is a solution.
We are done surviving. We demand to live.
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By the same Author on PEAH