By FRANCIS KOKUTSE

ACCRA, Ghana — Ghana is going to bring in about 170 Cuban doctors to work at health facilities amid a doctors’ strike, the health minister said Wednesday.

Several people have died without proper emergency attention with the strike in its third week, said Health Minister Alex Segbefia.

The doctors, who are members of the Ghana Medical Association, have been on strike since Aug. 7 to back their demand for better working conditions, including salaries, allowances and benefits. The government says the strike is illegal and that it will only negotiate when the doctors return to work.

The Police Hospital and 37 Military Hospital in Accra are taking on most patients in the capital now, but staff there say they are stretched thin. The strike is affecting the whole country.

Segbefia said there is no set date for the 177 Cuban doctors to arrive, but planning has begun.