Midwives’ body pushes for promotions

Association of Malawi Midwives (Amami) president Dr Ann Phoya has called on government to promote midwives who have worked over a decade without being promoted.

The call comes just weeks after government effected mass promotions of teachers and police officers.

Speaking in Zomba during the International Day of Midwives on Sunday, Phoya said the caregivers credited with improving safe motherhood should not be left behind.

She said midwives also deserve promotions because they serve the nation diligently to meet the country’s safe motherhood needs.

“There are some midwives that have served for more than 10 years without being promoted. This demotivates them. Therefore, we call for government not to exclude the midwifery fraternity from promotions,” she said.

Phoya also asked government to employ midwives that have completed studies to reduce the workload in the country’s overwhelmed health facilities.

She stated: “In many health facilities, there are few midwives compared to the growing population that needs midwifery services.

“Lack of human resource is a major challenge affecting midwives’ services as most health facilities are running without adequate staff and other resources in the labour wards. This poses a threat to the lives of women giving birth in these facilities,” she said.

Dr Charles Mwansambo, the chief of health services in the Ministry of Health, said government is committed to addressing challenges midwives face in the line of duty to improve their efforts in the push to ensure no life is lost while giving birth.