Addis Ababa — Horn Africa News | July 21, 2025
Public Services International (PSI), a global federation representing public sector workers, has expressed strong solidarity with Ethiopia’s health professionals and is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Daniel Fentaneh and all health workers detained for exercising their fundamental rights.
The arrests come amid growing protests by health workers in Ethiopia over long-standing grievances, including severe understaffing, inadequate wages, and worsening working conditions. PSI states that these conditions are driving the collapse of the public health system and represent a deepening crisis in the country’s essential services.
“This crackdown is not just an attack on individuals—it is an assault on the rights of all Ethiopian workers to organize, speak out, and demand justice,” said Daniel Oberko, PSI representative for Africa and Arab countries.
PSI fully supports the Ethiopian Health Professionals Movement in its calls for decent work, fair remuneration, safe working conditions, and meaningful social dialogue. The arrest of Dr. Fentaneh and others marks a worrying escalation in the suppression of worker voices.
The global union federation urges the Ethiopian government to honor its international commitments, including those under the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions, which guarantee workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
“The government must stop treating its health workers as adversaries,” added Oberko. “Instead, it should focus on investing in public health, entering genuine negotiations, and meeting the just demands of the health workforce.”
PSI calls on the international community, human rights organizations, and labor advocates to join in condemning the detentions and to stand in solidarity with Ethiopia’s health workers in their fight for dignity, respect, and justice.
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