Likoma District Council Urges Nurses to Remain Committed to Life-Saving Duties

Likoma Island, Malawi-Likoma District Council has called on nurses in the island district to remain committed to their life-saving duties, writes Oliver Malibisa.

The call was made on Friday as the world joined hands in commemorating World Nurses Day.

Speaking during the event, the Director of Administration at Likoma District Council, Yohane Bilesi, urged nurses to reflect on their work as life-saving by being exemplary in their conduct, just as church elders should be.

"To be a nurse is God's calling, and therefore, they must work as church elders," said Bilesi, adding that Florence Nightingale's selfless commitment to saving lives is what compels the entire world to remember her on this day.

Likoma District Nursing Officer, Modeste Banda, expressed concern that the number of nurses deployed in the district is inadequate.

She pleaded with the district council to improve the work environment by investing in adequate staffing and motivational initiatives.

"We can enjoy our work when our concerns are addressed to such an extent that we have a conducive environment that has motivational initiatives and adequate staff," she insisted.

Banda explained that Likoma District has three health facilities with approximately 40 nurses in total. However, a good number of them are only temporarily deployed.

According to her, the ideal nurse-to-patient ratio should be one nurse to 20 patients, but in Likoma, the ratio stands at 1:1000.

Meanwhile, the Likoma District Council pledged to employ additional nurses to address the staffing challenge and improve the quality of healthcare services in the district.

The commemoration of World Nurses Day kicked off with a procession from St. Peter's Mission Hospital and proceeded with special prayers, in which all nurses were committed to God's guidance on how they should discharge their duties with diligence, gathering at the Likoma Community Center Hall grounds.

The theme for this year's World Nurses Day was "Our Nurses, Our Future," reminding the world of the vital role that nurses play in keeping communities healthy and safe.