•MIDWIVES provide a unique personal commitment and contribution to the health and wellbeing of women and their new-born babies.

By JULIUS PHIRI –

ACCESS to quality health services by all the people, has remained the cornerstone of the Patriotic Front (PF) Government’s health policy.
In line with this policy, Government has continued to increase availability of health frontline staff, health infrastructure, drugs, equipment and other medical supplies.
According to President Michael Sata when he officially opened the Fourth Session of the Eleventh National Assembly, to mitigate the shortage of skilled health personnel, Government has been rehabilitating and constructing training institutions.
Government has embarked on the construction of the 650 health posts which are yet to be completed.
The Government is also constructing 30 district hospitals in various parts of the country.
Currently, the Government is implementing the modernisation and upgrading programme aimed at improving the quality of health care and reducing referrals abroad.
It is the desire and commitment of the Government to work towards achieving the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s average health worker density of 2,500 nurses per 1, 000 patients by 2015.
Since 1992, Zambia has been implementing health sector reforms aimed at developing necessary capacities in the health sector.
The PF Government has carried this torch from its predecessors and is committed to further improve the infrastructure as well as the quality including quantities of nurses and midwives coming from the training institutions across the country.
This was to ensure that there was a positive impact on nursing and midwifery practice across the entire continuum of care.
Zambia is required to meet global expectations in programmes such as maternal and child health which are part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with specific targets to be achieved in 2015.
President Sata led-Government has procured and distributed ambulances to all the districts in the country in order to mitigate challenges of patient referral from lower level of care to higher level health facilities.
Forexample, Eastern Province has received 15 basic life support ambulancves which have been distributed to all the nine districts.
Of the 650 health posts earmarked for construction atleast 57 health posts were allocated in the province of which constructions have began while three district hospitals in Lundazi, Chipata and Nyimba.
These are some of the developments that the Government is doing to improve health service delivery to the community.
Recently 178 nurses and midwives from schools of nursing and midwifery such as Chipata, St Francis and Mwami, graduated at a colourful combined graduation ceremony held at Chipata’s Luangwa House.
The Chipata School had 40 registered nurses and 26 certified midwives, St Francis witnessed 49 enrolled nurses with 19 enrolled midwives, while 44 nurses were from Mwami School.
The three schools achieved the highest percentage in pass rate with all 100 per cent.
Midwives in particular provide a unique personal commitment and contribution to the health and well being of women and their newborn.
Sadly, Eastern Province has less than 50 per cent of the required number of widwives.
Health Minister Joseph Kasonde, who was represented by Eastern Province medical officer Kennedy Malama said at a combined ceremony that this was an important step in health reforms by the Government as it takes health services as close to the family as possible.
“A healthy nation provides primary health care services and curative care to its people. Consequently in order to achieve MDG 4 on reducing child mortality, MDG 5 on improving maternal health and MDG6 on combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, it is inevitable that the shortage of health workers be addressed,”Dr Kasonde said.
He said his Government was making significant strides in devising effective means of recruiting and retaining nurses and midwives.
“We all know and appreciate that nurses and midwives play a critical role in saving lives and strengthening the national health care system,” the health minister explained.
However, the efforts of the PF Government in improving human resource production are equivalent and visible.
The minister said some of the strides taken by the Government include infrastructure developments in training institutions who are beneficiaries.
This year, Government allocated K617,500 to St Francis School of Nursing and Midwifery for construction of student hostels, Mwami School of Nursing was allocated with K225, 317 for completion of student hostel while Chipata School of Nursing and Midwifery was allocated with K355, 000 for completion of a dining hall.
Further, Dr Kasonde said the European Union through the Ministry of Health has given St Francis School of Nursing K1.6 million, Chipata School of Nursing K1.3 million and Mwami School of Nursing K1.4 million for infrastructure development, purchasing of equipment and teaching aid.
In short, K5.4 million was received by the training schools in Eastern Province for infrastructure development this year alone.
While Government is admitting the critical shortage of qualified staff at all levels, Dr Kasonde said the ministry of health has however attained improvement of the health status of the people and the role that nurses and midwives have played in the health care service delivery system.
He said the  Mwami School of Nursing has started training registered nurses after satisfying the General Nursing Council of Zambia requirements.
He is was aware that the work of the nurses and midwives were a calling for sacrifice and commitment.
The minister reminded the nurses and midwives to be professional and remember that it is the core principles of providing exceptional healthy care services under the PF Government which embraces clean, caring and competent.
Dr Kasonde said his Government supports programmes aimed at upgrading training in nursing and midwifery schools which enhances the quality of students.
Chipata School of Nursing and Midwifery Principal Tutor Mutinta Malama said the three nursing institutions were facing common challenges such as non availability of recommended skills laboratory for student’s clinical practices as opposed to the existing old small demonstration rooms.
Mrs Malama said there was non appointment of the old and the newly recruited tutors to the positions of nurse tutor and inadequate classroom as well as office accommodation.
“We have lack of reliable utility vehicles for training programmes. We earnestly appeal to the Government through you sir to look into our challenges. The interventions sir will enable the training institutions to train more nurses and midwives who will provide the much needed quality health care and close the human resource gap,” she stated.
Provincial medical health office representative Daniel Makawa said the province shall continue buying into the national training operational plan of 2013 to 2016.
Dr Makawa who is Chipata General Hospital medical superintendent said this was evidenced by the increase in intakes for the three training schools coupled by the conversion of enrolled nursing to registered nursing at Mwami from this year and St Francis School of enrolled nursing expected in 2016.
He said there was need for the three institutions to be considered in a special way and increase the funds and fill up vacant positions as part of responding effectively to the emerging demands.
Dr Makawa said the provincial health office was happy with the Government for investment taking place in the sector in the province.
General Nursing Council of Zambia manager administration Hacuma Natala appealed to the grajuands to honour the international code of ethics applied to nursing and to uphold the integrity of the nurse.
The Government’s primary goal and main objective concerning human resource in the health sector was to improve the availability and distribution of qualified health workers to all health facilities in the country.
The Government was also recognising the pivotal role that the health sectors contribute to both the economy and the well-being of the nation.