Nurses Carry Our Lives in Their Hands and Must Be Protected, Respected and Empowered

A Zimbabwean nurse finishes a 12-hour shift, exhausted and emotionally drained, only to return home wondering how she will pay school fees, transport costs or even afford basic groceries.

The next morning, she reports back to work.

“Today, we honour the extraordinary women and men of the nursing profession whose skilled hands bring healing, whose compassionate words bring comfort, and whose presence offers reassurance in moments of profound vulnerability,” she said.

Her words reflect a reality often overlooked in public conversations about healthcare: nurses are not simply support staff in hospitals. They are the backbone of patient care.

They are present at birth, at the bedside of critically ill patients, during emergencies and in the final moments of life. In many communities, especially underserved ones, nurses are often the only healthcare professionals consistently available.

But despite their central role, many nurses continue to battle burnout, staff shortages, migration pressures and inadequate remuneration.

Even within celebrations honouring nurses, the emotional exhaustion within the profession was difficult to ignore.

Speaking during the commemorations, The Avenues Clinic General Manager, Sibusisiwe Ndhlovu, rallied morale among nurses while openly acknowledging frustrations that have long simmered within the profession, particularly around salaries and the language often used to describe nursing.

“I know that the nurses hate two things,” Ndhlovu said. “One of them starts with an R.”

The room responded with knowing laughter, a reflection of years of unresolved conversations around remuneration.

“The one with an R, I know they hate it,” she continued, “but I also know that they hate the one about nursing is a calling.”

Yet Ndhlovu also embraced the same language many nurses increasingly struggle with as economic hardships deepen.

“Nursing is a calling,” she said. “It’s not just a job. You have to be called to be a nurse.

Still, Ndhlovu insisted the commemorations were about forcing greater recognition of nurses’ value within Zimbabwe’s healthcare system at a time morale across the sector remains severely strained.

“None of us who are here, except maybe those where there was an attempted home delivery, came into this world without the hands of a nurse,” she said. “So the nurses are so important.”

She also described the event as significant because of the unusually strong presence of senior government officials, saying it was the first time such a large delegation from the Ministry of Health had attended the commemorations.

Zimbabwe’s government has recently pledged improved conditions for nurses, acknowledging the importance of healthcare workers in sustaining the national health system.

Still, nurses and healthcare advocates argue that respect for the profession must move beyond speeches and commemorations.

Respect means creating safe working environments.

It means fair wages and access to mental health support.

It means involving nurses in decision-making processes and investing in their professional growth.

At The Avenues Clinic, Ogwal highlighted what investment in nurses can achieve, pointing to strong clinical outcomes driven by skilled and empowered nursing staff.

“We have witnessed remarkable achievements, including the discharge of babies weighing as little as 600 grams to the joy of their families,” she said, while also noting reduced mortality rates due to “the vigilance and timely interventions of alert, empowered nurses.”

The hospital has also expanded specialist nursing education through postgraduate programmes in oncology and palliative care, while partnering with institutions including the University of Zimbabwe to strengthen training for future nurses.

These efforts reflect a broader truth recognised globally: healthcare systems are only as strong as the nurses sustaining them.

The World Health Organization has repeatedly warned about a global nursing shortage driven by burnout, ageing workforces and underinvestment. In countries facing economic challenges, the impact becomes even more severe, with experienced nurses leaving for opportunities abroad.

The result is heavier workloads for those who remain behind.

Yet even amid these pressures, nurses continue showing up.

They continue caring.

They continue carrying emotional burdens that rarely make headlines.

Ogwal urged leaders and institutions to remove the barriers preventing nurses from fully practising their profession.

“To empower nurses is to invest meaningfully in education, strengthen professional leadership, ensure safe environment to practice, expand opportunities for growth, and give nurses their rightful voice in shaping policy and practice,” she said.

There is also a humanitarian reality that cannot be ignored.

When nurses are unsupported, patients suffer.

Communities suffer.

Healthcare systems weaken.

Protecting nurses is ultimately about protecting healthcare itself.

It is about ensuring that the people trusted to care for society are themselves cared for, respected and protected.

Because long after speeches end and commemorations fade, nurses remain beside hospital beds, carrying hope, fear, grief and healing in equal measure.

And in many ways, the future of healthcare depends on whether the world finally chooses to stand beside them too.