(Cambridge, MA) - On Wednesday, November 19 at 10:00 AM Eastern, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Zimbabwean Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) will hold a press conference to provide first-hand reports from health professionals on the ground in Harare and to call for an international crisis response to the total collapse of Zimbabwe's health system.
Authorities have recently closed the country's two main hospitals in Harare, including maternity wards, despite reports of a deadly cholera epidemic that the government has not addressed. On Monday, medical students were sent away as the government shut down their school. On Tuesday, over 400 Zimbabwean health professionals organized a mass protest in Harare that riot police broke up.
Who: Doctors and Medical Students from ZADHR join PHR's CEO, Frank Donaghue, who recently returned from a human rights advocacy training for medical students in Harare.
What: Telephone Press Conference
When: Wednesday, November 19, 10:00 AM Eastern
Where: Hosted by PHR, an international non-profit organization headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
How To Participate: Inside the US, dial 1-800-514-0831, then enter conference code # 2328 6073. Outside the US, dial your country code, followed by 1-630-693-2170, then enter conference code # 2328 6073.
A letter from PHR's Frank Donaghue on the emergent situation in Zimbabwe can be found at the Physicians for Human Rights web site, http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/letter-09-30-2008-frank.html
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) mobilizes the health professions to advance the health and dignity of all people by protecting human rights. As a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, PHR shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.
Media Contacts:
Jonathan Hutson
jhutson [at] phrusa [dot] org
Tel: (617) 301-4210
Cell: (857) 919-5130