Lucy Mkutumula is a registered nurse and midwife and health leader in Malawi. She currently serves as the deputy director of nursing and midwifery services on the senior management team for Malawi’s Ministry of Health. She oversees hospital and community-based nursing and midwifery programs and leads policy reviews and the development of guidelines. She is also interim chairperson of the institutional integrity committee for the Ministry of Health, which aims to minimize fraud and corruption risks. In addition, Lucy represents the Ministry of Health on the Investigations Committee of the Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi and on the Health Board of Nkhoma Synod, a major partner in health service delivery. Previously, she was the chief nursing officer at Kamuzu Central Hospital. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of Malawi.
Applied Project Title: Introducing an Accelerated Training Program for Direct Entry Diploma Level Community Health Nurse/Midwives in Malawi
Currently, Malawi has a critical shortage of community health nurses and midwives (CHNM) mainly due to inadequate production. This gap contributes to poor health outcomes across the country. Increasing the number of CHNMs will improve access to health services at the community level, especially among underserved areas, helping to reduce maternal and infant morbidity and mortality rates. This project looked at ways to address this staffing gap through implementation of an accelerated training program for CHNMs at 10 colleges across Malawi. Each college plans to recruit 100 students per year for four years, resulting in 4,000 new CHNMs, with financial support from the Ministry of Health in Malawi. This will address the problem of inequitable access to health services for underserved populations and help Malawi attain Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.