By Staff Reporter
The Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) says it intends to double the recruitment of trainee midwives in the coming years in a bid to address the gap left by skilled nurses and midwives who have left the country for greener pastures.
This initiative, along with the recently launched e-learning program for midwives, aims to improve the country’s maternal and neonatal health outcomes.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of a tour of the e-learning system at Sally Mugabe Hospital in Harare, Mrs. Nyaradzayi Chiwara, Director of Nursing Services in the Ministry of Health and Child Care stated that plans are in place to increase the recruitment of midwives.
As you are aware, in our country, we have a high attrition rate. We currently have a total of 22 midwifery schools in Zimbabwe, but we want to expand due to our compact, which was approved. We aim to double recruitment and also increase the number of schools, whether it’s midwifery or nursing schools,” said Mrs. Chiwara.
Over the past few years, Zimbabwe has been experiencing high incidences of maternal deaths due to a range of factors, including the absence of skilled birth attendants and midwives.
“One thing we are emphasizing is that we want to achieve a zero mortality rate, but currently, our rate is very high. We are encouraging these students to use this access to e-learning to research and find solutions to combat and mitigate maternal and neonatal mortality,” she added.
