Good health is at the core of any society. Our health affects our ability to go to work, our ability to go to school, our ability to care for our children, and so on. In order to be able to meet Malawi’s current and emerging health needs, we need sufficient, competent and motivated nurses and midwives.

As an organisation with a dual mandate, meaning it is both a professional organisation and a trade union, NONM is well placed to identify the main causes that lead to these gaps in the health system, and put them on the agenda. Reducing job dissatisfaction, burnout and absenteeism by e.g., improving work conditions can lead to a better healthcare system for all. This requires a strong organisation for nurses and midwives.

Since its partnership with the Norwegian Nurses Organisation (NNO) in 2006, NONM has increased its technical and organisational capacity, its membership services, and its influence in advocacy, lobbying and negotiations.

 Under the current project period (2019-2023), NONM aims to continue to contribute to better status, pay and working conditions for nurses and midwives; a more competent qualified and capable healthcare workforce; greater leadership opportunities for women; better healthcare and public-sector policy, legislation and reforms, amongst other things.

This will be effectuated by NONM in further developing its abilities as an effective watchdog and advocate, i.e., negotiating on behalf of its members and advocating for the people of Malawi. NONM also has a role to play in ensuring that the government prioritizes and implements its health commitments – as elaborated in the HSSP II, Human Resources for Health Strategic Plan and the National Health Policy.

NONM has, with support from NNO, also taken concrete steps to become a more democratic and accountable organisation for nurses and midwives. It is, for example, making adjustments to its Constitution and improving its financial management system. This project will continue to provide professional, technical and financial support to strengthen the organisation and also improve representation and democratization at local levels.

Furthermore, NONM is working continuously to improve its membership administration as well as improving its financial sustainability. With increasing revenue, NONM will be more self-sufficient (and thus able to successfully phase-out of financial support) and better able to provide nurses and midwives with relevant services, such as social and legal support to members to protect their professional and socio-economic rights.

The project is contributing to the attainment of a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (good health), SDG 8 (decent work), SDG 5 (gender equality), and SDG 4 (education), and is co-funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).