Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has addressed Belarusian medical workers on the occasion of their professional holiday, which is celebrated annually on the third Sunday of June.
She noted that the medical profession requires years of training and patience, and that in modern Belarus this is compounded by working conditions marked by chronic staff shortages, excessive workloads and administrative pressure.
“One study found that 68% of doctors in Belarus are dissatisfied with their working conditions. Every year, the number of hospitals in the country declines, there is a shortage of doctors and essential medicines, and many specialists are forced to leave the profession or move abroad,” the democratic forces leader said.
“Instead of supporting medical workers, the authorities increasingly view them as a resource that can be used without limits. Belarusian doctors regularly work far beyond the established norm, face unpaid overtime and carry a heavy bureaucratic burden. Those who want to change jobs or leave the country face additional obstacles. And when they raise legitimate complaints about difficult working conditions, they hear in response: ‘There is no need to complain that you work more than eight hours a day. We work as much as necessary.’
This is not how people who devote themselves every day to saving the lives of others should be treated. Being a doctor means working for the benefit of others and finding the strength every day to help people. The regime cannot understand this. But Belarusians do.
Your work is of immense value, and your service to people deserves respect and support. Thank you, dear medical workers,” she wrote.
