KARACHI: The Grand Health Alliance (GHA) has launched a Sindh-wide protest campaign over what healthcare workers describe as growing problems in the provincial health sector, with doctors, nurses and paramedics taking to the streets in the first phase of the mobilisation.
A major demonstration was held in Mirpurkhas, where healthcare professionals voiced strong opposition to the reported policy of privatising health institutions and transferring administrative control of healthcare facilities to the bureaucracy.
The mobilisation is not being presented as an isolated district-level protest. Alliance representatives have indicated that demonstrations will be organised across different divisions of Sindh, with the movement expected to become more organised and intense as the campaign progresses.
The latest mobilisation echoes the GHA’s history as a joint platform for healthcare workers across Sindh. The alliance has previously coordinated province-wide protests and service actions involving doctors, paramedics and other health employees over issues including allowances, service structures, promotions, workplace protections and hospital working conditions.
Doctors, nurses and paramedics put forward broad demands
The protesters have placed a wide-ranging charter of demands before the government.
At the centre of the campaign is opposition to the privatisation of health institutions and what the alliance describes as the increasing involvement of bureaucracy in the administration of the health sector.
Healthcare workers are also demanding effective security arrangements at health facilities, an issue that directly affects doctors, nurses, paramedics and other staff working in public hospitals.
The alliance has further called for an increase in salaries and allowances for doctors, nurses and paramedics, alongside improved working conditions and professional protections.
Another key demand concerns the administration of public-sector health institutions. Protesters want senior and experienced doctors from the General and Management cadres to be appointed to administrative positions, arguing for greater involvement of healthcare professionals with practical experience of the health system in institutional decision-making.
For paramedics, the demands include a proper service structure and timely promotions, addressing long-standing concerns about career progression and professional recognition.
Dr Roshan Chandio: Health sector already facing numerous problems
Addressing the Mirpurkhas protest, Grand Health Alliance convener and Young Doctors Association (YDA) Sindh president Dr Roshan Chandio criticised the government’s approach to the health sector.
He also strongly criticised what he described as the transfer of healthcare administration to bureaucrats. Dr Chandio said the Grand Health Alliance would continue its campaign to protect the rights of doctors, paramedics, nurses and other healthcare workers while working for improvements in the health sector.
Why the campaign is significant
The GHA’s current mobilisation comes as healthcare administration and service delivery remain major concerns across Sindh.
The alliance’s earlier campaigns have demonstrated its ability to mobilise healthcare workers across multiple districts. In 2020, for example, GHA-backed protests and OPD boycotts were reported in hospitals across Hyderabad, Larkana, Mirpurkhas, Naushahro Feroze, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Ghotki, Shikarpur and Kandhkot-Kashmore over a broad charter of demands.
The alliance’s latest campaign therefore carries a wider significance than a single demonstration. It brings together concerns about healthcare worker rights, hospital security, remuneration, professional progression and the governance of public health institutions.
The YDA Sindh has also publicly highlighted concerns including security issues and pay increases for young doctors, indicating that workplace safety and financial conditions remain prominent issues in the wider healthcare-worker movement.
Mirpurkhas protest marks first phase of wider mobilisation
The Mirpurkhas demonstration was part of the first phase of the GHA’s protest drive. Representatives at the gathering said further programmes would be organised in different divisions and warned that the movement would be strengthened and intensified after the initial round of protests.
YDA Sindh had separately announced a protest and Black Day in the Mirpurkhas division through its official social media communication, with Dr Roshan Chandio among the leadership associated with the call.
The alliance has also called for peaceful protest to highlight the concerns and demands of doctors, paramedics and nurses.
The developing campaign could therefore become a significant test of the Sindh government’s response to healthcare workers’ demands, particularly around privatisation, hospital administration, security, salaries, allowances and career structures.
For doctors, nurses and paramedics participating in the mobilisation, the dispute is ultimately about more than employment benefits. It also raises a larger question over how Sindh’s public healthcare institutions should be managed and who should have a meaningful role in decisions affecting patient care and the healthcare workforce.
With the Grand Health Alliance now taking its campaign beyond Mirpurkhas and signalling further divisional activity, the Sindh government faces growing pressure to engage with the healthcare community and respond to a widening set of demands.
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