National Community Health Worker Programs: Descriptions from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe
Understanding country community health worker (CHW) programs has never been more important. Existing efforts to expand health services are insufficient and may leave one-third of the world’s population without universal health care (UHC) in 2030.1 In 2019, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution noting that a “measurable acceleration is…
Mind the gap – a new resource developed by and for CHWs working on HIV and sexual health is aiming to fill a gap in accessible information
Background Community health workers (CHWs) support millions of people living with, or at risk of, HIV in Southern Africa. They are often people’s first point of contact with the health system. However, to play an effective role, CHWs need access to up-to-date, clear, accurate, and user-friendly information on HIV and sexual health. There are…
Can CHWs Help End Violence Against Children?
The Evidence: Officially or Unofficially, CHWs Already Address Violence Against Children | Last year I was working for World Vision’s Technical Services Organisation, which provides technical assistance and training to WV offices and partners. We received a request to analyse the results of a piece of research undertaken by World Vision Canada…
Task Sharing and Its Effectiveness in Addressing Mental Health — An Overview of CHW-led Approaches
“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” – Glenn Close Mental health represents a growing global public health concern. Given its nature, it requires tailored approaches that are sensitive to the individual’s needs and promote their sustainable growth and healing. Community health workers (CHWs)…
Assessing CHW Program Functionality with the Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix (CHW AIM)
Background Rigorous studies — randomized control trials — indicate that community health workers can effectively deliver health services as diverse as birth control injections and HIV care management. They also show that CHWs can ultimately reduce child morbidity, child mortality and neonatal mortality.[1] Yet studies on national CHW programs in…