Malawi has a shortage of nurses although govt. does not want to employ new ones

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Malawi Nurses

Despite the disclosure by the Ministry of Health that government will not employ new nurses for the Ministry and they should consider entrepreneurship, Malawi24 can exclusively disclose that the country is still in need of more health professionals.

Statistics from World Health Organization (WHO) prove Malawi need more nurses.

According to WHO, 10 nurses are recommended for a population of 10000, but Malawi has about 3 nurses for every 10,000. Having a shortfall of 7.

Malawi Nurses
Trained health personnel needed in numbers. (File)

This is also further complicated with the fact that Malawi’s population is growing with current estimates indicating that there are about 18 million people in the country.

A Doctor at QECH who spoke to Malawi24 said that the hospital can do with a new supply of nurses.

“The thing is that there is always the demand for nurses, it’s just sad that the country is running deep into economic woes but we need new nurses and not only at this hospital but in all the hospitals across the country,” he said.

The Doctor disclosed that at the moment the wards are understaffed and that puts more pressure on the health personnel leading to compromised service delivery.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) representative at joint graduation ceremony for St Luke’s and St Joseph’s college Ruth Madison said midwifery services are to respond to 1.3 million pregnancies each year hence a need for more nurses.

“We look to your continued leadership to address the current shortage of midwives in Malawi and improve their working conditions,” said Madison.

Meanwhile, Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) board chairperson Timothy Nyasulu said they are to facilitate for more nursing training with hope to see nurses being employed.

“We hope that one day government will employ them and not only employ them but also preparing for their monthly salaries,” said Nyasulu.

Media reports revealed that government failed to pay newly employed nurses for three months, a situation that forced the nurses to withdraw their services to citizens of Malawi.