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The Global Symposium on Health Systems Research will take place at the in Bogota, Colombia from October 31 to November 4, 2022. The event will feature several CHW-related sessions: Community health worker payment matters! Can the use of digital payment systems in low and middle income countries make things better? Wednesday, November 2, 2022, 11 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.   Adapting health provision models during COVID-19 to support community health workers in delivering equitable care: sharing experience across multiple contexts. Thematic Working Group on Community Health Workers Wednesday, November 2, 2022, 4 P.M. to 5:30 P.M.   Strengthening human resources for health Wednesday, November 2, 2022, 4 P.M. to 5:30 P.M.   Community Health Workers Business Meeting Thursday, November 3, 2022, 12:45 P.M. to 1:45 P.M.   Prevailing community health systems amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic Friday, November 4, 2022, 2 P.M. to 3:30 P.M. To learn more about HSR2022, or to register, visit the event website.     

With the world currently experiencing a global pandemic alongside a shortage of health personnel to attend to millions of ailing people, Lynda Keeru of Pamoja Communications and Kate Hawkins from ReBUILD attended a timely webinar ‘The role of CHWs in future-proofing health systems in fragile and conflict-affected settings.’ The webinar brought together different speakers from a range of settings to discuss this vital topic. Most countries in the global south have a shortage of formal, educated, healthcare workers and are increasingly looking into a range of Community Health Workers (CHWs) to fill this critical gap. CHWs are particularly critical in fragile settings where there are additional challenges with delivering healthcare. CHWs have proved to be essential, trusted and first-line responders providing health services in settings affected by conflict and disasters. Bridging the gap During the webinar, we heard that CHWs are part of communities and work closely with local leaders – they are familiar with the local norms and culture and are accepted. CHWs often have existing relationships that enable good access to the community, and on an individual level, they often have a sense of duty and willingness to serve their communities. As discussed by Mushtaq Khan, drawing on programme experiences in Yemen, Syria, and…