Nurses’ body decries cholera situation

National Organisation of Nurses and Midwives of Malawi (Nonm) president Shouts Simeza says they are shocked at the surge in cholera cases which has so far claimed 443 lives.

He said in a statement on Friday that the cholera outbreak has since overburdened the already overwhelmed healthcare system.

Simeza said: “Subsequently, the already small number of human resources for health, particularly nurses, is being divided so that some are allocated to man the cholera camps, rendering those other areas more vulnerable to an extreme shortage of healthcare workers.”

He said what is more worrisome is the fact that there are over 3 000 qualified nurses and midwives which government is yet to employ who could have helped during such an outbreak.

Simeza urged government to absorb into the system the unemployed nurses and midwives to reduce their workload amid the cholera outbreak.

While urging the citizenry to observe all preventive measures and ensure hygiene practices, he said the country’s development partners must also play a role in ensuring that more nurses are employed as part of efforts to contain the disease.

“Nonm also calls upon the development partners, particularly the World Health Organisation [WHO], Global Fund, Plan International, and United Nations Development Programme [UNDP], to help the government recruit 3 000 jobless nurses and midwives to improve the country’s health situation,” said Simeza.

The WHO states that the cholera outbreak, which started in March 2022 and has affected 27 of the 28 districts, is the largest reported in Malawi in the past 10 years.

The cholera outbreak began in the Southern Region with the first cases reported in Nsanje and Machinga districts.

According to the WHO, the most affected age groups are between 21 and 30 years.

President Lazarus Chakwera on December 8 2022 declared cholera a public health emergency and directed that the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 should take charge of cholera interventions.

Briefing the media in Lilongwe on Thursday, Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda said the task force’s first meeting on Tuesday found that the country is ready to contain the cholera outbreak despite a recent surge in cases.

But Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito blamed the government for being negligent on the matter, saying it has contributed to the high number of deaths.

Ministry of Health statistics show that as of December 21 2022, cumulative cholera cases were at 14 039 while 415 were admitted in treatment centres nationwide.