NONM commend govt for fostering good relationship with nurses
The
nurses union, National Organisation of Nurses and Midwives of Malawi (NONM) says
there is hope that nurses welfare and the health sector in general will
continue to improve because of the healthy relationship between the
organisation and Malawi government.
The
Executive Director for NONM Harriet Bwanali made the remarks in Lilongwe on
Friday at the opening of Biannual meeting of the organization where the
Minister of Health Dr. Jean Kalirani was the guest of honor.
Bwanali
said for the past two years the organization has made some positive strides in
the course of improving nurse’s welfare and capacity building because the
Ministry of Health has been keen to work with and listen to NONM on critical
issues it has been raising to government.
She
pointed out several achievements that the organization has made so far which she
said are the signs of the positive relationship between the organization and
the Ministry. She among others mentioned that the organization has had in
several occasions meeting with Government Negotiation Team to discuss on salary
adjustment for nurses where positive response was made as salary was adjusted
to 34% increase and that another increment has been made recently.
The
NONM Executive Director added that through such discussions several houses have
been built in various health centres and currently there are nurses and midwife
technicians in all Malawi Health Science colleges upgrading to state registered
nurses.
“For
the past two years we have seen that there is improvement, we can seat around the
table. The Ministry has been inviting us
and we have been included in several technical working groups. This means we
have a voice in those technical working groups and we just hope that we will
continue to enjoy such type of relationship between government and ourselves as
a union” said Bwanali
She
added that since government began to recognize NONM such good relationship is also
spreading to other professional bodies that have in the past years denied NONM
to seat and look at issues together.
“In
the past years when we were starting as a union other bodies looked at us as an
enemy because they thought we were just cleaning our dirty linen in the public,
but what we are doing now is to look at issues, sit down and discuss together
and move forward”
On
the importance of this Biannual meeting which is to end on Sunday 30th
November and is expected to elect its President, Bwanali said “This meeting is
for us to look at issues that we can put on the agenda for lobbying and
advocacy, and as we do that we are looking at improving the care that we give
to the population of Malawi.”
But
in her remarks Minister of Health Hon Jean Kalirani also applauded NONM for being
one of the health institutions that is working hard fighting for the
improvement of nurses’ welfare and their professional growth.
Kalirani
said NONM efforts are assisting government in retention of nurses as well as
making sure that nurses are ethical in their duty. She therefore pledged that
government will work out on challenges that nurses are facing in the country including
making sure that there is no interruptions in medical supplies essential for
the work of nurses particularly drug stock-outs in the countries hospitals.
The
minister while acknowledging the shortage of nurses in the country, she stated
that government will try its best to ensure that more nurses are being trained
but emphasized that nurses should be ethical and professional as they do their
noble duty of treating patients.
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