Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Nursing Personnel Convention, 1977 (No. 149) - Zambia (Ratification: 1980)

Articles 2 and 5 of the Convention. National policy concerning nursing services and personnel. Consultations. The Committee takes note of the data provided in the 2017 Annual Report of the General Nursing Council of Zambia (hereinafter the GNC) but notes the Government’s indication that much of the information requested by the Committee was not yet available at the time of submission of the report. The Committee notes that, as at 31 December 2017, a total of 36,683 nurses and midwives were registered with the GNC, distributed across the different professional nursing categories. In addition, a total of 20,817 nurses and midwives renewed their annual practising licenses. The Government also indicates that in 2017, the GNC issued a total of 60 verifications for nurses and midwives seeking registration and employment abroad, an increase from 44 in 2016. In the first quarter of 2018, the GNC issued 26 verifications. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that most nurses and midwives seeking verification from the GNC are in search of better salaries and working conditions as well as opportunities for advanced education. The Government clarifies that the GNC cannot specify the number of nurses and midwives who have migrated abroad, since not all foreign employers require verification. Moreover, not all nurses and midwives who seek verification go on to leave the country. The Committee nevertheless recalls its 2013 direct request, in which it noted that the dire health worker shortage – principally due to brain drain, but also to internal migration – represents an ongoing challenge for the Ministry of Health. In this regard, the Committee notes that the National Health Policy (2017–20) refers to critical shortages of health workers, which lead to abnormal staff to patient ratios, as well as to an inequitable distribution of available health workers, particularly in the rural areas, which experience difficulties in attracting and retaining qualified health workers. It further notes the new National Human Resources for Health Strategic Plan 2018–24, which refers to the longstanding severe shortage of human capital in the health system and notes that Zambia will need to almost double its health workforce by 2025 to adequately serve its population. The strategic priorities contained in the Strategy include strengthening retention and motivation systems and improving work environments. The Committee requests the Government to provide up-to-date information on the measures taken or envisaged to implement the new National Human Resources for Health Strategic Plan 2018–24 and the results achieved. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate the measures taken with a view to containing or reversing the migration of nurses and midwives, particularly measures to strengthen education and lifelong learning systems, create additional full-time jobs and improve working conditions, including career prospects and remuneration, with a view to attracting men and women to the profession and retaining them in it. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the participation of nursing personnel in the planning of nursing services and consultations with such personnel on decisions concerning them are ensured, as required under the Convention.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information, disaggregated by age, sex and region, concerning the situation of nursing personnel in the country, including the numbers of nursing personnel by sectors of activity, levels of training and functions and their ratio to the population, as well as the number of those who leave the profession each year.