Margaret Loma Phiri
Nursing and Midwifery Advisor, Seed Global Health/ Malawi
Margaret Loma Phiri is a nurse and midwife with a Masters in Nursing Education and Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia Universityx. She also holds a post – graduate diploma in Community Health from Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA) South Africa. She has held a number of leadership positions including: Regional Advisor for Nursing &Midwifery for WHO- African Region; HRH Advisor, WHO- Swaziland Country Office; Regional Capacity Building Coordinator for East- Central & Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA- Health Community) & ECSACON for SADC Region; Quality Assurance Director and Senior Lecturer in Education and Leadership for University of Malawi, Kamuzu College of Nursing – Malawi; and Maternal and Child Health Advisor WHO/ Sierra Leone during the Ebola Recovery and Transition period.
Ms. Phiri has worked directly and collaboratively with key stakeholders to strengthen and improve the quality of nursing and midwifery education, practice, regulation, leadership and research for improved health care outcomes. Examples of her work include the development and facilitation of regional Professional Regulatory Frameworks; Competency – Based Nursing and Midwifery Regional Prototype Curriculum models; AFRO Nursing and Midwifery Strategic Direction; ICN/ECSA Health Community Leadership for Change Program; Interprofessional Education & Collaborative Practice WHO Collaborating Centre at Kamuzu College of Nursing; and nursing and midwifery policies and plans and promoting priority interventions in improving maternal health including EmONC interventions.
Currently Ms Phiri is working for Seed Global Health/Malawi as Nursing and Midwifery Advisor. In her work, she has provided key leadership for the development of effective, responsive and contextually relevant activities in close collaboration with Seed and academic and clinical partners in Malawi. With her deep ties to Malawi stakeholders, and breadth of experience as a leader, has helped advise and support the integration of US educators (nurses, midwives and physicians) into the academic and clinical environments in her native country to ensure success.
Ms. Phiri has taken a leadership role in supporting the 2020 Year of the Nurse and Midwife activities. As a member of the QUAD, (collaboration between regulatory, policy, education, and clinical leaders), she has been leading the development of the Nightingale Challenge to ensure young nurses and midwives mentorship in Leadership Development in these four areas.
She is also currently collaborating with a team for Africa and Center for the Study of Social Difference of Columbia University, New York, NY Nurse Leaders for an initiative “On the Frontlines: Nursing Leadership in Pandemics: The Ebola experience.