Health minister David Parirenyatwa told the official Herald daily that the Zimbabwe government had so far raised US$7 million from the donor community for salaries of medical workers since launching an international appeal for assistance on December 4, 2008.
A further US$11 million was now needed to meet salaries for the health professionals for the rest of the year.
"The ministry has budgeted at least US$1.5 million a month for salaries. The new salaries are effective January 1," Parirenyatwa told the paper. He said striking health workers had been offered salaries of ranging between US$50 and US$850 a month depending on their qualifications. Zimbabwe’s doctors and nurses have been on strike since early 2008, demanding to be paid in foreign currency and a review of their working conditions.
They complained about the lack of protective material in the face of infectious diseases and the absence of proper equipment and drugs to treat patients.
The strike has forced most public hospitals to close, worsening a deadly cholera outbreak that has claimed about 2,000 since August.