The agreement follows concerns that higher annual licence fees are adding financial pressure to health workers already grappling with rising living and transport costs.

NEWS | Health | Professional Fees | By Watipaso Mzungu

The Coalition for Health Workers (HRH PLUS) has reached an agreement with the Nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi (NMCM) for employers to pay the professional licence fees of nurses and midwives, following a 33% increase in annual fees introduced last month.

The agreement comes after nurses and midwives raised concerns that the higher fees were becoming increasingly difficult to absorb amid rising living and operational costs.

Speaking after the engagement, HRH PLUS technical adviser Benson Phiri said the concerns had prompted the coalition to approach the council to find a lasting solution.

“Nurses and midwives across the country were alarmed by these increased licence fees, which is why we engaged the Council directly to map out tangible lasting solutions,” Phiri said.

He said the increased fees were adding to the financial burden on health workers whose take-home pay was already under pressure from rising costs.

“Take-home pay is barely [enough] when practitioners are forced to absorb these hiked professional rates alongside escalating operational costs, including exorbitant transportation to and from health facilities,” he said.

The revised fees were introduced through Government Notice No. 74 of the Nurses and Midwives (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, published in the Malawi Gazette Supplement on 14 August 2026.

Under Schedule Item 9 of the amended regulations, annual renewal fees across all qualification tiers increased by between 30% and 33%. The increases affect registered nurses, midwives, technicians and nurse-midwife technicians.

Phiri said the agreement with the council means employers will, going forward, be responsible for paying the professional licence fees of nurses and midwives.

“Nurses and midwives should now be happy to note that we have agreed with Council that going forward employers should be the ones paying for licence fees for nurses and midwives in Malawi,” he said.

Phiri is also an aspirant for the presidency of the National Organisation of Nurses and Midwives (NONM).

HRH PLUS executive director Tiyamike Goliati said the engagement with the council was only the beginning of the coalition’s advocacy efforts.

“This engagement is only our first step. We are also taking this fight to the National Organisation of Nurses and Midwives regarding their recently hiked membership fees,” Goliati said.

The coalition says protecting the welfare and professional dignity of healthcare workers is critical to sustaining quality healthcare delivery in Malawi.

HRH PLUS said it would continue engaging health regulatory and professional bodies to protect frontline workers from what it described as “unsustainable financial levies”, which it says could contribute to nurses and midwives leaving the profession.