CHW Hub | CHW Central

The CHW Hub is a product of the partnership between CHW Central and the Health Systems Global Thematic Working Group (TWG) on Supporting and Strengthening the Role of Community Health Workers in Health System Development.

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Thematic Working Group Goal:
To support the generation, synthesis and communication of evidence on the roll out and functioning of community health worker programs and to enable learning across geographical and political contexts

Bringing together diverse individuals and networks to share knowledge

Gender and Community Health Workers: Three focus areas for programme managers and policy makers

By:

Rosie Steegeᵃ and Kate Hawkinsᵇ

Occupational segregation by sex is one of the most important and enduring aspects of the labour market globally. This segregation is particularly apparent in health care where women make up over 70% of the health and social care workforce. Yet they remain vertically segregated to the lower tiers of the health system. This is evidenced by the vast numbers of women who make up Community Health Worker cadres worldwide. Tackling these gendered distortions in the health labour workforce is becoming a global priority, with a recent Global Health Workforce Network call for evidence in this area.

Three Lessons We Can Learn from 40+ Years of Community Health Worker Programs

By:

Laura Hoemeke (Director of Health Policy & Systems; IntraHealth International)

“To respond effectively and appropriately to needs and expectations, health services need to be organized around close-to-community networks of people-centred primary care…” WHO 13th General Program of Work

The global health community first made widescale investments in community health workers (CHWs) more than 40 years ago. But last month, I left the 71st World Health Assembly wondering whether we had learned anything from CHW experiences over the last several decades.

The 1978 Declaration of Alma-Ata underscored the central role of bringing health care “as close as possible to where people live and work” as part of achieving universal primary health care. The declaration, which is being revamped for its 40th anniversary later this year, defined primary health care (PHC) as “essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost that the community and country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination.”

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CHW Hub Resources

Announcing a special collection of articles on community health workers

A gender analysis of a national community health workers program: A case study of Afghanistan.

This qualitative resource explores the gendered dynamics of the CHW program in Afghanistan. It examines how broader societal gender norms affect the CHW program and suggests that the gendered division of health labour may provide opportunities for women's empowerment.

Reads: 208
Webinar Resources and Recording - Integrating and scaling mobile community health data systems: Experience from India, Ethiopia and Madagascar.

Community health workers (CHWs) improve access to quality health services at the community level. Despite the critical role that CHWs play, governments often have limited insight into their activities, the quality of their services, the conditions of the communities that they serve, and how best to link these CHWs and their beneficiaries to the larger health system.

Reads: 487
Unit cost analysis of training and deploying paid community health workers in three rural districts of Tanzania

This paper estimates the cost of training and deploying paid community health workers in Tanzania. The authors found the estimated cost to be sustainable on a large scale.

Reads: 1,034
A time-use study of community health worker service activities in three rural districts of Tanzania (Rufiji, Ulanga and Kilombero)

This research article examines how community health workers allocate their time during the work day.

Reads: 1,006
Book: Healthy Lives for Vulnerable Women and Children: Applying Health Systems Research

Tremendous challenges remain to ensure that the most vulnerable populations, including women, children, and adolescents, are able to enjoy the healthy lives and well-being promised in the Sustainable Development Goals. Much of their poor health is caused by poverty, gender, lack of education, and social marginalization as well as inaccessible healthcare services. Strong, equitable, and well-governed health systems can contribute to sustainably improving their lives.

Reads: 1,221

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