National Organisation of Nurses and Midwives of Malawi (NONM) was, today 10 February 2023, engaged in a tree planting exercise along the banks of Lilongwe river. Over 100 tree seedlings were planted during the exercise.

Speaking to nurses that came for the exercise, NONM executive director Peter Mvuma reiterated that it is the responsibility of everyone including nurses to ensure the protection of the environment.

He emphasised that there is a direct link between the environment and good health.

“We want to be part of a generation that will reduce polution and replenish the degraded environment” he said, adding that there is a direct correlation between environmental degradation and poor health, a situation that increases the disease burden in the hospitals. Mvuma stressed that it was for this reason that nurses take tree planting exercises seriously.

In his remarks, the Lilongwe City Assembly Environmental Officer, Cydrick Tambala, applauded the nurses for taking lead in planting the trees. He said the trees being planted by the nurses is part of the Lilongwe Ecological Corridor Initiative that targets to reprenish Lilongwe and Lingadzi rivers with trees and Kapinga coverage for 5 years from 2020 to 2025. The initiative will see the river banks being turned into recreational parks with architectural designs throughout.

The trees that NONM has planted include Mkunkhu, M’bawa, Tsambafumu and Mwimbi.