The unsung heroes in Malawi's health care system - the caregivers at the hospital bedside

I ended last year on the same note I started - in awe of the people who quietly keep the healthcare system in Malawi going.

The selflessness and kindness that is poured into caring for the sick and nursing them back to health (if they can get back to health) is immeasurable. My respect for the workforce that runs health facilities keeps growing.?

There is an entire army that works in the most challenging of circumstances. Their joint effort is often unacknowledged, but huge.

The dedication of nurses who stay with patients every hour of every day, for example, seems so routine yet is so extraordinary. In facilities where staff are short, nursing and clinical students carry some responsibilities too. The role they play is most easily appreciated when the schools are on holiday.

The one group though, whose impact on the health service may never be fully appreciated, is the relatives staying with their sick in the hospital (commonly known as "guardians").

I am truly amazed by how tough women who stay by the bedside day after day are. They not only look after their loved ones - they also look out for neighboring patients who may not have relatives of their own to look after them.?The men who stay by the bedside looking after their wives, brothers, or children stand out in particular, as caring for the sick is traditionally left to women in this society.

Children make sure their parents get good care - some have to transport their parents from remote places to get them to better care at bigger facilities.

Many unseen "guardians" are caring from outside the hospital - they religiously bring home-cooked meals for their patient and for the guardian staying in the hospital with the patient. They take turns with the ‘main’ guardian - they allow the main guardian to go off and rest, while the ‘temporary’ guardian sits in.

In some ways, these roles have carved themselves out because of an overstretched system with inadequate resources to look after its sick.

And it is very easy to sanitize problems that have led to this and idolize hardship. But it doesn’t take away the rich fabric of humanity on display in these people who still overflow with kindness in an increasingly fragmented world.