د . إAEDSRر . س

‘You Were Worth Fighting For’, Maltese ITU Nurses Tell Nation After Powerful Photo Ends Up On €2 Coin

Article Featured Image

Two Maltese ITU nurses have sent an uplifting message to the nation after the news that a powerful photo of them at work will be featured on a special €2 commemorative coin.

“As a team, we humbly served and fought for you all because you were all worth fighting for,” Doreen Zammit and Charmaine Cauchi told Lovin Malta.

“Through awareness and a joint effort between our health care system and the Maltese population, we achieved so much together through these difficult times.”  

Yesterday, the Central Bank announced that it will issue a commemorative coin dedicated to healthcare professionals on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This coin will feature a photo of Zammit and Cauchi in full PPE, locked in a clearly stressful embrace while at work. 

The photo was originally taken by a colleague of theirs during the country’s first wave of COVID-19 and shared with Times of Malta, becoming the newspaper’s most-liked Instagram photo ever.

It even caught the eye of the World Health Organisation, which chose it as its photo of the month for May 2020 as well as its Christmas greetings image.

Meanwhile, doctor Lucianne Licari expressed her pride at her role in bringing this photo the attention of the WHO’s regional office for Europe.

She said she was working as director of country support and corporate communications when she spotted the photo of Cauchi and Zammit on Times of Malta.

I knew that the visual was so strong that the organization could promote it further. So I asked the communications team, for which I was responsible, to obtain all necessary permissions to be able to add this photo to the WHO Europe photo library and use as necessary,” she said.

“With thanks to Ms Holly Nielsen who did all the background work to obtain permissions, we managed to promote the photo on the WHO website and use it officially on the WHO Day of the Nurse.”

“This photo also became the official WHO Europe Christmas card in 2020.”

“What better way to thank our brave and wonderful nurses for their dedication in such difficult times!”

Share this story to show your support for Malta’s frontliners!

READ NEXT: Malta’s Mental Health Crisis In The Workplace: Stress, Bullying, And Burnout Plague Office Spaces

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

You may also love

View All