Source: Star Africa
The White Ribbon Alliance (WRA) in Malawi, a grouping that advocates for safe motherhood and welfare of nurses and midwives has petitioned the government over the increasing deaths of women during pregnancy and child birth.
Presenting the petition to the Minister of Health, Jean Kalirani on Thursday in the capital Lilongwe, the Alliance's Board Chairperson Lennie Kamwendo said the government should start investing in midwifery in order to reduce maternal mortality.
"Midwives are key to saving the lives of mothers and newborns yet in the current Health Strategic Plan there is no indication about how many midwives the country needs to ensure that every child bearing mother has a skilled midwife," she observed.
She added that the human resource structure of the Ministry of Health has no career path for midwives unlike nurses.
She therefore requested the government to determine and document the number of midwives who are currently engaged in hands-on provision of midwifery care in all districts of the country and establish how many midwives Malawi actually needs to provide quality care to women by 2015.
Health Minister Kalirani assured the group of her government's commitment in addressing the concerns raised by the WRA.