Elevating Country Voices
Hear from the frontlines of community health. Find stories and interviews of community health workers and community health program managers that will deepen understanding of their crucial function delivering lifesaving care to communities.
ABOLISHING USER FEES: A GENDER IMPERATIVE IN A CHANGING AID LANDSCAPE
At a rural clinic gate, a mother waits with her feverish child. She has walked for hours, but the nurse cannot admit them. The reason is not lack of compassion or clinical skill, but money: without user fees, there will be no consultation, no diagnosis, and no medicine. This scene is a recurring tragedy across many countries, and one that disproportionately hurts women and children. The Funding Squeeze and Its Gendered Risks Global health financing is at a crossroads. Official Development Assistance (ODA) is stagnating as donors reallocate funds toward climate change, humanitarian crises, and geopolitical security (OECD, 2024). Domestic…
FAH Strengthening Community Health in Senegal: Q1 2025 Highlights
Financing Alliance for Health (FAH) and Ministry of Health and Social Action (MSAS) made significant strides in strengthening community health system and health financing in Senegal through provision of quality technical assistance and effective policy dialogue. These activities directly supported national priorities and laid the groundwork for stronger and more equitable community health and financing systems. Managing Results Through Program Strategies Review FAH provided technical support to the validation of the end term review the Community Health Strategy 2019–2024. This important step not only highlighted the significant progress made in the community health service delivery system but also underscored lessons learnt from…
FAH Fiscal Sponsorship Program
Many high-impact nonprofits and charitable projects in Africa face challenges in securing international donor funding because they lack a 501(c)(3) status. A 501(c)(3) is a classification under US law that exempts a public charity from federal income tax. It also allows donors to receive tax deductions for their contributions to that public charity. As a result, many donors and foundations that are based outside the continent require their potential grantees to have this status, ensuring that they can obtain tax deductions. But securing a 501(c)(3) status can be a lengthy, costly, and time-consuming process for non-US-based organizations. It is not uncommon for the process to last more than…
From Our Partners
Why counties must invest in community health services
Africa Frontline First is an initiative to fund community health programs in sub-Saharan Africa. While this initiative aims to deploy 200,000 professional CHWs by 2030, existing community health volunteers lack essential resources and financial incentives. In this piece, two CHVs from Kenya discuss why county governments must invest in community health services.
–> read more at Nation Africa
How health workers are leading Africa’s COVID-19 response
Community health workers have long responded to disease outbreaks while maintaining lifesaving services. In this September 2021 opinion piece, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia’s president from 2006 to 2018, and Dr. John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, share their thoughts on investments that should be prioritized to end the COVID-19 pandemic and realize health for all.
–> read more at Devex
COVID-19 highlights the need for community health
Over recent years, the world has faced two Ebola outbreaks, the constant threat of pandemic influenza, and now the global spread of novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 pandemic. In developing countries, these threats risk exacerbating existing high burdens of communicable diseases associated with millions of preventable deaths. Community health is essential for pandemic preparedness (prevention, surveillance, response) and remains essential for achieving the World Health Organization’s Sustainable Development Goals. The global scale and impact of the current pandemic demonstrates that this cuts across geographies, levels of income, and types of health systems.
–> read more at Think Global Health