No, health workers engaged to strengthen the COVID-19 response were not fired.The contracts were scheduled…

Rating Justification

The fact checking process has determined as misleading the claim that over 573 health workers have been fired. The previous Patriotic Front Government led by former President Edgar Chagwa Lungu, through support from the World Bank and other cooperating partners, contracted additional health workers to support the mainstream health staff in the fight against Covid-19 across the country for a period of three (3) months. This was to strengthen the Government’s response to the pandemic in the wake of an increase in cases and deaths during the third wave. The commencement of the contract was on the 22nd June, 2021, and it was set to end on the 24th September, 2021. The termination of the contract was foreseen, and can therefore not be considered ‘firing’. The iVerify fact checking team contacted some health workers who affirmed that their contracts were only for a period of three (3) months, and were to end on 24th September, 2021. As part of the verification, the iVerify fact checking process also reviewed some contract documents for the health workers, which affirmed the statement.