The British High Commission in Lilongwe has reaffirmed the United Kingdom (UK)’s commitment to strengthening Malawi’s health system through investment in nurses and midwives.
British High Commission Health Adviser for Women, Children and Newborns, Charlotte Seeley- Musgrave, said the UK was proud to support the Global Health Partnership, which is being implemented in collaboration with Florence Nightingale Foundation, Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi (NMCM) and the Ministry of Health.
Speaking during the winding up of the partnership programme, Seeley-Musgrave said the initiative focused on improving quality of care through grassroots ideas and solutions while promoting patients’ wellbeing and continuous leadership among nurses and midwives.
“If you invest in nurses and midwives anywhere in the world, you invest in health system strengthening. That is a core principle of the UK’s partnership here in Malawi,” she said.
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She added that while the current partnership was coming to an end, discussions were ongoing on how the UK could continue supporting Malawi in line with government priorities, especially following the appointment of a new British High Commissioner.
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Florence Nightingale Foundation representative Julia Downing and NMCM Registrar Judith Chirembo said the project was developed after inspections revealed leadership gaps in health facilities.
“We, as a council, are mandated to inspect health facilities to assess whether services are being delivered according to standards. Our findings showed that weak leadership was affecting service delivery,” Chirembo said.
On his part, Ministry of Health Principal Secretary for Administration Bestone Chisamile said the government recognised challenges faced by nurses and midwives, citing long working hours and high patient-to-caregiver ratios.
“As government, through the Ministry of Health, we continue to recruit nurses and midwives every year to build capacity. We also support upgrading and continuous professional development programmes,” he said.
