THE Government has disclosed that latest figures by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) estimate a shortfall of about 12,000 nurses and midwives in Zambia in order for the country to attain health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Acting Health Minister, Brian Chituwo said ICN also estimated a shortfall of more than 600,000 nurses and midwives in sub-Saharan countries for them to attain the MDGs.
Dr Chituwo said this in Lusaka when he officially opened the 9th East, Central and Southern African College Nursing (ECSACON) scientific conference and 3rd quadrennial meeting at Mulungushi International Conference Centre.
Dr Chituwo challenged ECSACON and country chapters to take the lead and work with the governments of the day to determine and implement effective and sustainable strategies to increase the numbers of nurses and midwives and to pay them appropriately.
He said some countries including Zambia had started implementing innovations to address the challenges.
Dr Chituwo said it was important for ECSACON to work with the World Health Organisation (WHO) at regional and country offices to ensure that the innovations were adopted by many countries for the benefit of their people.
He said it was common knowledge that nurses and midwives were a catalyst in the health systems to improve the health of especially women and children.
“We all know that health is a key determinant of economic growth, a driver of overall development and a strategy for poverty reduction,” he said.
And in a keynote address, Africa’s Heath in 2010 director, Doyin Oluwole said the private sector and civil society organisations had also participated in adopting the MDGs as their framework for international development cooperation.
Professor Oluwole also said besides being advocates for the MDGs, private foundations in developed countries had become an important source of funding for a wide range of activities intended to achieve them.
[Times of Zambia]
Sorry to say but most of them are working and living in diaspora, were their services are highly appreciated and well compensated for. If only Zed can do that, I see problem at all.
Ba LT yashani kanshi game iyi? what’s up with this flag you are giving me? I am not in Canada.
may I appeal to the nurses in wilderness to consider coming back home. you have been gone for so long yet you have nothing to look back to. you long realised that running away from home aint as lucrative as you thought so pack your bags and come back. you have visited the first world and have seen they have nothing to offer apart from making you burst your arse working. its not easy home just like it aint easy in diaspora but no place is better than home. be brave enough and come back as diaspora is bondage its modern slavery
#3 stop deceing yourself My mother is a nurse and she has never had it any better. Her salary in Zambia a month is what she makes in 3 days, her terminal benefits were only 15 million kwacha. We couldn’t even afford a loaf of bread, wear new clothes , afford butter or any necessities on her salary back in Zambia. You people that love to say ‘come back’ are just bitter malicious zambians who want people to come back and suffer just like you. The fact that people are living better lives cuts you so deep that you cannot accept it , instead you fabricate stories. Most nurses abroad have papers for residency and visa’s are treated just like any tax paying citizen. Stop listening to deported zambians back home who were illegals
#4 shaka zulu to support #3 I have been to uk for school and know how much nurses get that side its not enough. Im sure you rarely see your mum as she has to do long hours just for her to put food on your table and buy clothes for you. If your mum gets 1000 pounds per month how much do you pay rent, power, water, heat, medical insurance, car insurance if you have any, refuse collection, food. transport Im sure the salary gets swallowed up such that your mum has no savings and has to keep looking foward to her next paycheck. you live in bondage bcos its not easy to even to buy an airticket to come and visit. you have sacrificed your freedoms for cheese and butter which as the hard working still enjoy in our motherland
#5 You have been to the UK for school meaning you were on a student visa which gives you no authority to comment. Someone on a student visa commenting on people that have REAL papers is like a beggar on the streets commenting on millionaires. Secondly you know nothing about nurses because a nurse doesn’t make anywhere near £1000 a month because thats what people on minimum wage get. A trainee nurse gets over £12 an hour and over £20 per hour in overtime and agency, Now my mother works 8 hours a day now do the math, plus all her children are grown. If thats what you bitter zambian bigots call bondage then I wonder what you call the poverty you live in? Your information just highlights how your ignorance is marinated in bitter maliciousness because people are doing better than you
Also to add you have never been to the UK, There is no medical insurance in the UK. Healthcare is free , so good on you for exposing the fact that you have never set foot here. Typical of a bitter zambian who probably got rejected at the embassy and now wants to take it out on others.
Zambians at home like talking rubbish..what has zambia to offer anyone? Come back to what-poverty,mediocrity,political guagmire and negative critism..Iam not a nurse but a public health doctor in europe..to tell but the truth,am much comfortable here and surity for the future of my children than come home and die of HIV which up to now the cause in sub-sahara is known..mysterious thing tho but i really pity my people and blame it on the politicians
Sometimes u hav 2 thnk. GOD WAS NOT STUPID AND FOOLISH TO MAKE U A ZAMBIAN. I AM NOT SAYING its wrong 4 one 2 work out side zambia,NO!!!!!! BT I AM SAYIN HOME IS HOME!!!
shaka zulu im more educated than your zen mum. i was in uk for school and work i can enter uk anytime. my two kids are graduates and working that side. uk can be heaven and earth to you bcos you never imagined to be that side. ask your poor mum if she can afford a house in zambia from her poor salary that side. guess your childhood must have been miserable bcos you get excited over a nurses’ meagre income. you are now being treated like second class aliens and cant be employed anymore bcos uk would rather employ nurses from Eu. its just that you are stranded in foreign land and you have no shelter back home. i can accommodate you in my servants quaters
Hey hey hey!! Guys hold your guns here. To start with where one lives might be personal preference 4 those in the diaspora and perhaps circumstances 4 those back hm you are all right. We are all working very hard 4, where we are 4 the same objective. We do send money back hm which helps the country. Skilled workers have been out seeking better prospects. Back hm more needs to be done to improve hospital environments for nurses to come back to. Politicians go to RSA hospitals costing the country a lot because UTH and other hospitals are neglected. These are the issues not the cheap personal chatters above. There is a lot that should be done to get back the experienced skilled labour, in most areas, from the diaspora. We need common solutions rather then getting into ‘them and us’ stuff.
#8CHAVULAKAMWA DOCTOR IN CESKOSLOVENSKO PUBLIC HEALTH YOUR QUALIFICATIONS CANT EVEN GIVE YOU A JOB IN ZAMBIA. DEGREE FROM PATRICE LUMUMBA FELLOWSHIP UNIVERSITY WERE THEY DONT LOOK AT YOUR FORM 5 CERTIFICATE BUT JUST AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN GOVTS. YOU WANT TO COME BACK BUT WHO WILL GIVE YOU A JOB WITH YOUR INCOPETENCE
Its surprising how a report on a shortage of medical personell has degenarated into name calling and comparison of education.
Well in my view it depends what you want some pipo find it much better out in England as a nurse or Dr and indeed others find it better here.
chavulakamwa # 8 I totally disagree that Zambia has nothing to offer to anyone. If you are in Zambia dont you see lots of people progressing ? building houses without loans etc. Come on. Zambia is a prefered investment destination around the world . Why do you view it so negatively
Educated and yet you have poor command in english and Grammar, please! You have just outed yourself as a person that knows zilch about the UK by claiming a none existant medical insurance. For your own information my parents have 3 properties in Zambia, one farm, directorship in several small companies and one property in the UK. We don’t get treated like second class citizens remember I am legally entitled to live here as a resident so choke on that. I got my residency in 2004 so your comment about EU nurses is just pathetic to say the least. Keeping telling yourself ducktales to ease the pain of the poverty biting your toes. I have a passport with enough chindindo’s to fit your whole extended family nobody is stranded apart from you mentally
SHAKA WEN YOU BLOG YOU DONT REALLY MIND ABOUT GRAMER LIKE WEN YOU LOOK AT YOUR ABOVE BLOG AT #13 YOU SAY COMMAND IN ENGLISH IS THAT GOOD GRAMMER BUT I UNDERSTAND WAT YOU MEAN. YOU GOT YOUR RESIDENCE IN 2004 AND STILL TALKS OF MY MUM HAS THIS MY MUM HAS THAT EXPLAINS YOUR AGE AND EXPOSURE STILL A BABY WITH NO TEETH. #8CHAVULAKAMWA ZAMBIA HAS SO MUCH TO OFFER THATS WHY YOU SEE ALL INVESTORS COMING TO ZAMBIA. ZAMBIANS HAVE MADE IT RIGHT HERE YOU JUST NEED TO LOOK AT THE HOUSES WE HAVE BUILT AND NUMBER OF CARS DOING THE ROADS OBTAINED CASH WITHOUT LOANS. YOU WILL STILL BE ABLE TO EAT YOUR CHEESE AND BURGERS IF YOU WEAR LEVI’S JEANS AND NIKE SNEAKERS YOU FIND THEM HERE. IF YOU ARE HAPI TO BE IN A STRANGE AND UNFRIENDLY LAND PLIZ ENJOY ITS A FREE WORLD BUT NOTHING BEATS HOME
#14 Poor you with your poor command in english skills that rival a grade 9 pupil at kalikiliki basic school. Anyway the only reason why I refer to my mum is because the article addresses her career. I won’t go into my career beacuse frankly I don’t want to depress you poverty, dusty and green inzi’s are already doing too much damage to you. And furthermore you show your lowlifeness by equating buying luxuries as a sign of doing well poor you. You can buy all the clothes, cars or nike sneakers you want but when it comes to education, schools, hospitals Zambia is still a third world country. I find it silly that you brag of depreciating assets like cars , tell me what good is it to drive a nice car and wear nice clothes but when you get sick you fly to south africa. You are clearly lost
It’s funny how zambians brag about superficial stuff as if thats what makes a country good. What kind of fool would pay cash for a car that depreciates fast. In zambia people seem to have it backwards to think what makes you rich is how you throw away your money rather than how you keep it and make it grow. No wonder so many zambians are ballers today and broke tommorow. It’s sad people brag about silly things and yet cannot even have decent education or healthcare.
ha Chituwo revise YOUR figures, TEN more Nurses left Zambia today at the international Airport. That 12,000 u talking about is History now, the figure You quoting is Historical Data, not correct.
shaka zulu please its not poor command in english but poor command of english. ha ha ha im laughing bcos i know what you are going thru with your imagined wealth. i know what it means to be in diaspora and what it means to home. you are missing so much. so entertained green flies in your crib when you were here you said it your mum couldnt afford to feed you from her nurse family. i see why you so ecstatic to be in london. i dread to stat that side bcos i love my poor country zambia nothing beats it. even the twin towers on NY b4 they were brought down could not make me stat in bondage. I have my friends, relatives fellow zambians be it pf upnd or mmd when we meet we laugh and share a drink and urgue over soccer politics but remain friends. pa uk buggs, eggs ready in 1 day chicken beef GMO
#15,16 ba shaka Zulu, iyo mwatu nyoza fwebena zambia. I am currently not staying in zambia as well, but I cant use such bitter words as you have used Shaka. Home is home, even if it is a bush.Encourage your fellow zambians rather than pulling them down. And truely speaking shaka, dont you face racism in the UK. Answer me if you are a honest person.
#19 I am not nyozaling zambia Am nyozaling kwalomwela’s with chikoto’s on their throats like Lady gaga. And if racism is something to move out of a coutry then you might as well move out of Zambia because teh Muzungus in Zambia call zambians monkeys all the time. Heres theres laws to protect peopel against racism but in Zambia the muzungu’s insulting their workers are scott free
Bane let’s be realistic, I worked in Zambia as a nurse for twenty years both for the government and the mines. The quality of life of a nurse in Zambia cant be compared to those in diaspora. Those nurses who struggle in diaspora dont have proper residency or registration with their respective nursing councils. Here where I live, I dont pay for my kid’s education until they go to university and healthcare is free. I can afford to go for holidays and I eat anything I want. I visit Zambia once a year and I own a house on the copperbelt. Dont be cheated that everyone in diaspora works like donkeys, it just depends on whether you want to have a life or work all time. Why do you think all our politicians and business executives always want to be in Europe or America? Zambia is home but there…
#18 Again you open your mouth so wide to show how small your brain is. Whoever told you I share the life of your illegal children or friends abroad? I am in Zambia every 14 months , I travel freely. You are probably one of the scavengers that beg for pounds, money for beer and clothes from the UK .And be honest with yourself you cannot live here whether you wanted to or not for the simple fact that you have zero immigration status, this is why you are so bitter. f i wanted to settle in zambia I can easily do so the reason why is because i don’t want and have better prospects here. You on the other hand are trapped and cannot move. You are the same zambians who I see in lsk who look as if someone poured lemons with viwawasha on your throat looking so bitter at zambians from abroad
is also racism there and unfortunately the law doesnt punish racists. Ask those who work for mining companies. Anyone white is a supervisor irrespective of their qualifications and our government doesnt do anything about it, and whites are treated as little gods. Zambian companies send these so called expatriates to hospitals abroad when they are sick and send their children to schools abroad and what do you benefit as a Zambian…nothing!!!
There are still alot of nursing staff who got cheated into going on early retirement during the Chiluba regime and still struglling to get their terminal benefits either the lawyers conived with so called team leaders or the AG has no solution to their plight.Donors made funds for early retirement available but in between the funds disappeared in thin air. Most of these nurses are willing to go back to work if only GRZ could come up with some incentives.The problem that we have as a nation is lack of seriouness. Dr. Chituwo finds it fit to officiate a conference at Mulungushi ICC instaed of finding ways of inticing the nurses back to work. What a health delivery service this country is offering?
Ignorance is both bliss and blinding. Instead of recognizing what is inherently wrong with a system that rewards corruption over hard honest work, we chose to believe soothing lies about nursing abroad. A licensed nurse in the west is afforded middle class, upward mobility and education opportunities for family. In Zambia our government prioritizes educating their young abroad, over-paying themselves etc at the expense of hardworking nurses. That needs to change. Meanwhile if I may add, nurses are treated as third class in Zambia,politicians are 1st and foreigners second.
Shaka Zulu and your friends. Stop fighting on this forum. We need to hear your views on the subject matter not your venom. You can not compare life in Zed with the UK. Period.
Back to the topic. Conditions need to be improved for nurses and consider employing nurses from Zimbabwe and other countries that can work in Zambia.
Ha ha ha i see some Zedians at home still have lots of misconceptions about Zedians in the diaspora.Bane inkama fipepa don`t be cheated that the Zedian`s here are working their asses to the maximum.Those who tell negative stories are the ones that failed to fit in coz of lacking neccessary qualifications.Bola panshi bane.
Only bitter zambians want other zambians in the diaspora to return because of jealousy and deep down they know taba kayi myange po life ya pa UK! its sweeter than that mandalena you sleep on. am staying put. PS: shaka zulu and kalinosky spare us your childish antics people. thank you thank you
Being an RN in the USA is so much better than being an RN in Zed. I had a seemingly very good job in Zed before I came to the USA. But what I make now is way much better than I will ever make as a nurse or even as a manager at ZESCO. I work 3 twelve hour days a week. Am off 4 days a week and my minimum hour wage is $31 and I get a differential of $4 and $7 an hour for my respective shifts. Overtime is always available because just like Zed there is a shortage of nurses in the USA. The hospital I work for did my residency papers for my husband and my kids using their own lawyers and money and I have only worked for them for two and half years. And I dont have to strike to get an increment as am given a wage increment on my anniversary.
#kalinosky petr……. you need brain check, honestly you are pathetic n childish… im not sure sure if i read right that you have grown children. Im sorry to say that they have such a dull father :-?
kalinosky petr #5. #9, #11: Educated in Europe, and a good job you mean you could biker with shaka zulu the way you have? Surely you could have cooled off and just eased yourself a bit. Shaka Zulu, actually, when a person says bad things about “a profession” such as nursing in the UK, and how they “bum” clean, the best you can do is laught with them, and concur with them. They will have nothing to add to it. Its like a racist, if they chantt racists remarks and you get angry, they will never stop because their aim is always to make you angry. A job is a job, all we know in some countries is that even a malonda can drive a Mercedez Benz, go on holidays and the like. So ease chabe, relax!!
In Zed material things such as houses, cars, and the like are seen as an end in themselves; not a means to an end as is the case in the West. Hence, ba Zed will always brag about houses, cars, jobs, you name it. I mean even here in the West when you meet ba Zed, that usually is the case. If i may quote Fred Chisenga, a Kalindula Musician who once said “Abakali tabalanda landa, balanda nencito”!!
i observe how some pipo in diaspora get excited with imagined newly found buga life. I have been around the globe and know how much it takes to lead a normal life. for example you cant just get up with your degrees and say im going to work in USA. that country doesnt recognise foreign certificates untill after you meet certain standards which is almost impossible. zambians in usa are doing demeaning jobs like cleaning a whitemans’ arse domestic servants, kaboyi, cabbies, dishwashing while those in UK may get jobs that go with qualifications but salaries are too low thats why when they come back for holidays they complain about prices and even fail to buy cocacola bcos they equate the price to a shilling. having been abroad for some time I really feel so good to have settled back at home
many of you claim to have bought houses from your savings but I just wonder were these houses are if not in shanty compounds like chibolya, bauleni. chawama, kanyama, matero bcos a proper house is now going for not less than a billion kwacha. if you talk of K250 000 000 thats a cost of a plot in meanwood and miller but of course you can get one for fifty million but space will only be enough for a two roomed crib. back home business is booming for the hardworkers and we have jobs which are well paying. their are so many chances back home which you can never enjoy in alien land with all the racism. if you go out to eat in restraunt dont make a mistake of taking a table for 2 as bazungu will avoid your table even on a bus you take a seat for 2 even a tired old woman will prefer to stand
#33 and 34: From your comments one would see that you have not been happy staying in Zed. Put differently, you are so envious of the people in diaspora. Mate, Shanty or no shanty, Zambia is for us all. Just make your millions, or billions and let people do their own work. Wealth of the mind is better than your material wealth you have; above all, rich people dont say they are rich.
35 I WAS IN DIASPORA LONGER THAN YOU HAVE BEEN. IT TOOK A LOT OF COURAGE FOR ME TO COME BACK AS i WAS SCARED OF FAILURE BUT I CANT REGRET NOW. YOU CAN NEVER MAKE IT IN DIASPORA BCOS YOU WILL WORK TILL YOU DROP DEAD AND THEN BRINGING YOUR BODY BACK HOME IS COSTLY THATS WHY PIPO ARE BURIED IN UNMARKED GRAVES BY PRISONERS. BACK HOME YOU CAN INVEST AS WE HAVE SO MANY CHANCES WHILST ABROAD YOUR SALARY IS JUST ENOUGH TO PAY BILLS AND YOU ALWAYS LOOK FOWARD TO NEXT PAYCHECK. YOU STAY AWAY FROM WORK FOR 2 WEEKS THEN YOU STARVE. IF YOU AINT BRAVE OR HAVE NO FOUNDATION AT HOME THEN YOU BURST YOUR ARSE WORKING TILL YOU TOO OLD THATS WHY THOSE GUYS YOU LOOK AFTER END UP IN NURSING HOMES BCOS A SALARY IN NEVER ENOUGH. AYO MA FACTS EPOMPELELE I KNOW IT HURTS TO BE REMINDED OF THE TRUTH
LOL am sure just because you were a failure abroad you want to think we all failed like you. It’s sad that a lot of former diasporee’s are the most bitter because stuff never took off for them. Misery loves company as someone said too bad you the only people that share your views are in zambia with deported stamps in their passport. Last time I was in Zambia I met so many former diasporee’s with accents singing the same song you are singing. I always ask them one question what was your status abroad and funny enough that answers everything. Buti chaku baba maningi hahaha, Don’t worry I’ll toss you some pounds or even some old clothes when I come back
kwanu ni kwanu!!!! pls do you pipo remember that ka old song Mwenye akaya ukashala uchimona kapata mukanya!!!! home is home regardless og what….. iam a nurse from Denmark have lived here for past 25yrs….and now ready to go back home,,,,,,he he he he ah!!!!