A professional body in the health sector has applauded government’s plans to recruit healthcare workers in 34 cadres nationwide, saying it demonstrates that the administration is taking heed of their call for health systems strengthening.
Human Resources for Health Coalition (HRHC) chairperson Solomon Chomba said in an interview on Thursday that the recruitment will address promotion challenges of all self-upgraded healthcare workers and also deal with the recruitment gap in health facilities.
He said the recruitment is part of the conciliation agreement signed last year by health workers, the ministry and Malawi Human Rights Commission.
Said Chomba: “One unique thing about this recruitment is the diversification of health care cadres where all crucial roles have been incorporated.
“Additionally, we have some cadres who have remained unemployed for over 15 years, that the recruitment will address promotion challenges of all self-upgraded healthcare workers and also deal with the recruitment gap in health facilities.
He said the recruitment is part of the conciliation agreement signed last year by health workers, the ministry and Malawi Human Rights Commission.
Said Chomba: “One unique thing about this recruitment is the diversification of health care cadres where all crucial roles have been incorporated.
“Additionally, we have some cadres who have remained unemployed for over 15 years, Ministry of Health Principal Secretary Dr. Samson Mndolo announced this week that recruitment for the 34 cadres will be conducted in the form of walk-in interviews between April 23 and April 25 2025.
He said: “In the spirit of universal health coverage, prospective candidates that are not prepared to work in the rural areas need not attend these interviews and successful candidates that will resist the deployment to rural areas will be deemed to be no longer interested for appointment and will be replaced immediately.”
Positions advertised are for grades H, K and I and include senior medical officers, dental surgeons, nuclear medicine technologists, prosthetics and orthotics technologists, environmental health officers and nurse midwife technicians, among others.
In a separate interview, Ministry of Health spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe could not state how much has been budgeted for in salaries and other benefits for the new recruits, saying he needed to consult since it is an ongoing exercise and includes a variety of cadres.
“There is no separate budget for this. All we do is ask for more positions from the Department of Human Resource Management and Development [DHRMD].
