The Mozambican Medical Association (AMM) has suspended the national doctors’ strike that was due to begin on Sunday.
According to the AMM chairperson, Napoleao Viola, cited by the independent television station, STV, a general meeting of doctors held on Friday decided to suspend the strike.
The AMM believed there had been advances in its negotiations with the government, and suspending the strike would give the government more time to respond to all the doctors’ demands.
Hence, according to an AMM press release, the AMM has decided to “continue prioritizing dialogue and joint work as the primordial way of achieving its goals”.
The doctors urged the public to encourage the government to provide doctors with better working conditions so that, in turn, the doctors can offer better treatment to Mozambican citizens.
The AMM has not set any new deadline for the government to meet its demands.
The AMM has also pledged that its strike will not be a complete shutdown of the National Health Service. It has promised to keep “minimum services” functioning, in order to care for seriously ill patients.
The AMM release did not say what concessions the government has made to its demands, and what key points still remain to be negotiated.
AIM