Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa (C) gives his inaugural speech to thousands of people who gathered at the National Sports Stadium in Harare, Zimbabwe, 26 August 2018. EPA-EFE/AARON UFUMELI 
The work stoppage compounds an economic crisis that Zimbabwean banks have warned may spawn a hyper-inflationary spiral, similar to one the country experienced a decade ago. As a shortage of foreign-exchange leaves the government unable to import basic raw materials like food and fuel, doctors are facing an “acute shortage” of medicines and equipment, according to a statement emailed by the Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors’ Association.
“Doctors are now finding it impossible to continue discharging their services in hospitals,” the association’s national committee said in the Dec. 1 statement. DM