Association of Malawian Midwives appeals for more government support

In a quest to maintain professional standards, the Association of Malawian Midwives (AMAMI) has made an appeal asking government and other employers to make sure that midwives in the country are provided with necessary resources in order to deliver their services effectively.

The Association made an appeal on recently during an Advocacy Agenda Development Session organized by White Ribbon Alliance at Mponera in Dowa District.

Speaking in an interview, Association of Malawian Midwives President Keith Lipato said Midwives in the country are facing a lot of challenges in their service delivery including issues of accommodation and Transportation, career progression and lack of scholarship opportunities among others.

“Malawian midwives remain motivated and geared to offer and provide quality midwifery care. However they are facing a lot off challenges affecting their service delivery for example lack of proper transport for them in various hospitals, poor accommodation and many more.

“We pledged to serve Malawians with all our might but as human beings we also have our needs that have to be addressed as such we are calling upon government and other stakeholders to be very supportive and make sure that midwives in the country are working in an enabling environment,” he said.

Lipato said midwives play a crucial role in saving lives and as such they need to be motivated at all cost.

He further asked policy makers and government through the ministry of health and finance to create a midwifery line in the national health budget to enable clear, trackable funding for midwifery services.

In terms of transportation Lipato suggested that there is a need for all the hospitals in the country to have special transport arrangements for health practitioners saying it is pathetic that others travel many miles to save lives.

In her presentation Chief Nursing Officer and Desk officer for Nursing and Midwifery education in Malawi Alaizi Nkhoma said the vital contributions of midwifery for women and newborns to survive and thrive is well recognized and as government will make sure that their welfare is properly taken care of.

The White Ribbon Alliance Malawi is working tirelessly to support the reduction of maternal and newborn mortality through advocacy to promote midwifery.