Tanzania: Dr. Daniel Fentaneh, Senior Leader in Ethiopian Health Professionals Movement, Detained in Bahir Dar

Addis Abeba- Dr. Daniel Fentaneh, a senior leader in the Ethiopian Health Professionals Movement and a gynecology and obstetrics resident at Bahir Dar University, has been detained in Bahir Dar, Amhara region, sources told Addis Standard.

According to a source familiar with the matter, Dr. Daniel was apprehended on Wednesday around 1:30 p.m. in Bahir Dar city by security forces. The source said he is "currently under custody at the 13th Police Station in Bahir Dar."

"But as people there told us, they could take him to Addis [Abeba] anytime," the source added.

Dr. Daniel's arrest follows a nationwide strike by healthcare professionals that began on 13 May, demanding improved pay, better working conditions, and protection of their rights. The strike, which came after months of online mobilization under hashtags such as #HealthWorkersMatter, has been accompanied by arrests and allegations of intimidation. Protesters are demanding "improved pay, better working conditions, and protection of their rights."

Dr. Daniel has played a prominent role in the movement, using the Facebook platform Dr. Debol, also known as Team Debol, which gained wide traction among healthcare workers and the public.

His arrest came days after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed claimed the strike had been "overtaken by political opportunists" and warned that the matter was "no longer in your hands." In a discussion with healthcare workers, the Prime Minister said, "The path to a solution has been taken away," and claimed that those "with no service experience" had taken over the discourse.

While acknowledging that "doctors working under immense pressure" had raised "valid concerns," he alleged that "these are not doctors" but "politicians in white coats" who are "turning the white coat into a political tool."

Several health professionals have been arrested in connection with the strike, including Dr. Mahlet Guush, who was released on bail on 12 June after more than three weeks in detention, and Yonatan Dagnaw, president of the healthcare professionals' association, who was arrested on 4 May and later released.

Read the original article on Addis Standard.