Community health workers across the world served a pivotal role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic this year. Kenya’s First Lady Margaret Kenyatta was among many who commended CHWs for their essential role during the pandemic (Business Ghana, 2020). But kind words without supportive action contribute little to the challenges faced by CHWs. CHW programs and researchers … [Read more...] about CHWs and the Pandemic Response: A Year in Review
Village Health Volunteers of Thailand
Over 1 million Village Health Volunteers in Thailand provide infectious disease surveillance and other health management services. These volunteers receive over 40 hours of initial training and regular follow-up sessions. As a result of their efforts, Thailand achieved global leadership in reducing deaths among children under five years of age. Background As part of its … [Read more...] about Village Health Volunteers of Thailand
Tanzania’s Community-based Health Program
Modern Community Health Workers in Tanzania have a history dating as far back as eight decades. Each worker is trained to provide village health interventions and other essential preventative services and is required to have obtained a secondary education prior to training. Despite a long and established history, Tanzania requires a needs assessment to assess the cumulative … [Read more...] about Tanzania’s Community-based Health Program
Ward-Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in South Africa
South African Community Health Workers collaborate on interdisciplinary health teams to provide health prevention and promotion services for chronic health conditions. Each worker receives twelve months of training to provide primarily home-based care. Country-wide implementation of the South African program has been slow to implement, and no formal impact evaluations have been … [Read more...] about Ward-Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in South Africa
Sierra Leone’s Community Health Workers
The West Africa Ebola Outbreak created an opportunity for Sierra Leone to restructure and relaunch their national CHW program after years of segmented community-based programs. The current program structure lends itself to a part-time, daily work schedule whereupon each CHW provides a diverse set of care services for children and adult men and women. The recency of the CHW … [Read more...] about Sierra Leone’s Community Health Workers