Equity and Community Health Workers: Redefining Community Health
In 1920, almost one hundred years ago, the first community health worker (CHW) program was established in China. The Farmer Scholars, later called Barefoot Doctors, were illiterate farmers trained to take vital statistics, deliver vaccines, provide first aid, and give health talks. The program became famous for its marked successes…
Universal Health Coverage Day 2018
The achievement of universal health coverage requires the availability of trained health workers at the community level. CHWs are an essential element of the community health workforce; yet, to harness the potential of CHWs to extend health services to poor and marginalized populations, there is an urgent need to optimize…
Appreciating the critical role CHWs play in the HIV/AIDS response
For World AIDS Day 2018, we want to recognize the critical role that community health workers play in the HIV/AIDS response. Across the globe, CHWs of various kinds—from full-time salaried community health workers to part-time peer educators and mentor mothers—provide services essential to ensurring continuum of care, combating stigma and…
Unveiling the WHO Guidelines to Optimize CHW Programs
October 31, 2018 Last week, I attended the Global Conference on Primary Health Care in Astana, Kazakhstan. I was there to represent my colleagues who work in the small West African nation of Togo to strengthen primary health care systems. Our model integrates professional community health workers (CHWs) with improved…