By Wendy Mkandawire
Parliamentarian for Phalombe South, Tione Henry, has asked the government to urgently recruit more midwives to improve maternity services, citing a national deficit of 8,000 midwives.
Speaking in Parliament, Henry said the country is still experiencing inadequate health personnel, a situation she described as increasing the workload for midwives and requiring immediate attention.
In an interview, Henry explained that the ratio of one midwife to clients is too high, and the low numbers are pressuring service delivery by midwives, which is affecting health services.
She said that when recruiting civil servants, the government should prioritize the health sector because it requires more workers compared to other sectors.
Henry added that the government should also improve standards for health workers by increasing salaries. She noted that inadequate pay has pushed health workers to seek jobs abroad, further worsening the shortage.
Reacting to the request, Minister of Health Madalitso Baloyi assured the House that the government is aware of the situation.
She said that the government will first prioritize completing ongoing health infrastructure projects.
Baloyi added that the concerns raised were valid and need to be addressed as soon as possible to reduce the high workload and pressure on current midwives and overturn the situation.
