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Women’s body laments critical shortage of midwives, calls for massive

The Non-Governmental Gender Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has called on Government to urgently strengthen the recruitment and deployment of midwives, with particular focus on rural and underserved communities across Zambia. Organization’s Executive Director, Anne Mbewe-Anamela, said the shortage was having the greatest impact on women…

By Augustine Sichula Zambia Monitor Published • 3 hours ago 3 min read
Women’s body laments critical shortage of midwives, calls for massive

Picture: Zambia Monitor

The Non-Governmental Gender Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has called on Government to urgently strengthen the recruitment and deployment of midwives, with particular focus on rural and underserved communities across Zambia.

Organization’s Executive Director, Anne Mbewe-Anamela, said the shortage was having the greatest impact on women and girls, who are the primary users of maternity services.

Anamela made the call in a statement issued in Lusaka on Sunday, in which NGOCC joined the Midwives Association of Zambia (MAZ) to highlight what it described as a critical shortage affecting women’s health, dignity and rights.

According to MAZ, Zambia needs to recruit and deploy over 9,000 midwives to close the current workforce gap, highlighting that in some health facilities the workload had reached one midwife for every 617 deliveries, far above the World Health Organization recommended ratio of 1:175.

Anamela noted that in rural areas many women travelled long distances only to find no midwife available, increasing risks during pregnancy and childbirth.

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“The situation requires immediate action. Skilled midwifery care is central to women’s right to health, safe motherhood and dignity. When facilities are understaffed, women face delays in care, greater risks during childbirth, and added burdens on families,” she stated.

Anamela acknowledged the Government’s progressive efforts to improve access to quality healthcare, but stressed that the midwifery workforce gap must be prioritized to ensure those gains translated into better maternal outcomes.

She urged the Government to take concrete steps to address the crisis and conduct an updated national analysis of the midwifery workforce gap by district and facility to guide recruitment.

“We must also train more midwives and urgently recruit those who are already trained,” Anamela said.

She further recommended that a costed, time-bound workforce plan with clear recruitment targets through 2031 be developed and reflected in national budgets, as proposed by MAZ.

Anamela emphasized that investment in the health workforce must go hand in hand with improvements to infrastructure.

“This requires sustained investment, matched with investment in infrastructure and midwives’ working environment. Without decent working conditions, we will continue to lose skilled personnel,” she stated.

Anamela noted that poor staffing levels not only compromised safety but also placed additional strain on existing health workers, leading to burnout and reduced quality of care in maternity wards.

She stated that addressing the shortage was fundamental to gender equality and national development.

“Investing in midwives is investing in women, families and communities. Access to skilled and timely maternal healthcare, regardless of location or socio-economic circumstances, is fundamental to protecting women’s health and rights and advancing gender equality in Zambia,” Anamela said.

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Source: Zambia Monitor — Read the original article

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