• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
CHW Central

CHW Central

A global resource for and about Community Health Workers

DONATE
  • Home
  • About
    • About CHW Central
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
    • Links
    • Meet Our Interns
    • Partners
    • TAG Members
  • Features
  • CHW Voices
    • Blogs
    • Photo Essays
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
  • HSG Hub
  • CHF Hub
    • Country Resources
    • Country Voices
    • Courses & Partner Resources
    • Financing Resources
  • Resources
    • All Resources
    • Training Resources

Malawi’s Community Health Worker Program

September 24, 2020 By Pat Williams 2 Comments

By: Abigail Simkoko and Frank Gondwe

Prompted by supply chain and health quality constraints, in 2017 Malawi launched the National Community Health Strategy to develop a workforce capable of providing lifesaving interventions for serious childhood illnesses and educating about disease prevention. Health Surveillance Assistants receive 12 weeks of training to provide comprehensive services, including services such as growth monitoring and water source protection. Health Surveillance Assistants contributed to the successful achievement of the Millennium Development Goals for child health.

Background

Malawi’s community health system has faced chronic resource constraints and deficiencies in quality of services. In view of these challenges, in 2017 Malawi launched the first National Community Health Strategy (2017-2022) in which the government has committed to improve basic community health services throughout the country in collaboration with rural and urban communities.

In Malawi the term Community Health Workers (CHWs) refers to all community health team members working at rural Health Centers such as Community Health Nurses, Midwives, Medical Assistants, Environmental Health Assistants, and Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs). This chapter focuses on HSAs. HSAs are at the top of the Malawi’s CHW Program structure.

Implementation

HSAs are trained to implement lifesaving interventions through primary health care services such as management of serious childhood illnesses (diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria). CHWs also equip families with the knowledge and skills to prevent disease. They promote good nutrition, sanitation, and hygiene, and link families to essential services.

Roles/responsibilities

The roles of HSAs are very comprehensive and have continued to change over the years as new interventions are introduced into the health sector. Currently, HSA tasks at community level include: child (and mother) vaccination, growth monitoring, sanitation, water source protection and water treatment, disease surveillance, health and nutrition talks, provision of contraceptives and supervising traditional birth attendants and village health and water committees. Other tasks include providing family planning methods, following up on TB patients and other health-related tasks as advised by the government or NGOs. Therefore, HSAs carry essential health knowledge, skills, and tools into communities and homes, and these are essential for saving lives, preventing disease, and helping children, mothers, fathers, and communities to reach their full potential and flourish.

Training

HSAs receive 12 weeks of training (8 weeks classroom-based and 4 weeks practical) followed by a final exam. Most of them have also received supplementary trainings like Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM). They also receive refresher trainings but not regularly.

Supervision

HSAs are supervised on a quarterly basis by an Assistant Environment Health Officer (AEHO), an Environment Health Officer (EHO) or a Community Health Nurse. HSAs themselves supervise other community-level cadres such as traditional birth attendants, village health and water committees.

Incentives and remuneration

HSAs receive a salary of approximately US$ 63 per month, along with per diems (payments for attending trainings and other special activities) and non-financial incentives (such as uniforms, T-shirts, bags, a bicycle, and public recognition).

Impact

HSAs have played a critical role in extending access to health services, especially in underserved, hard-to-reach areas. They are an important part of the frontline Primary Health Care team. HSAs have made notable contributions to improvements in Malawi’s health outcomes, particularly in the attainment of Millennium Development Goal for child health.

Read more
Health for the People:​ National Community Health Worker Programs from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe

Related

Related

Filed Under: News Tagged With: #CHW, #HenryPerryCaseStudies2020, #UHC

Did you enjoy this article?

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay apprised of the latest resources and news.

* indicates required

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. W I says

    January 14, 2021 at 7:44 pm

    Can you please add a date stamp on these pages to indicate when they were last updated? CHW programs (particularly staffing #s and remuneration amounts) can change quite rapidly in some places, and it would be helpful to know the years when these finding applied. Going forward, it will also be helpful to know whether these assessments were done pre- or post-COVID (which has altered many programmes’ scopes and operations). Thanks!

    Reply
    • Becky Furth says

      February 25, 2021 at 2:08 pm

      Thanks for the feedback. We appreciate hearing from readers and particularly getting suggestions that will make the site stronger and more helpful to users. We’re reviewing this issue.

      Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay apprised of the latest resources and news.

* indicates required

CHW Upcoming Meetings and Events

CHWs and CHWs by Other Names: We want to hear from YOU! | Ongoing

Prevent Diabetes Complications: From Head to Toe | October 5th via zoom | Register here

Community Health Workers Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa: History and Current Status | October 11 via zoom| Register here

Vaccination Community Navigator Training for Community Health Workers | Ongoing | Register here

Cambridge Health Alliance CHW Training Course | September 5th-October 26, 2023 & January 20-March 30, 2024 | Register here

From Monrovia To New York: Advocating for proCHWs at UNGA, CHIC Webinar | September 13 | Register herehere

Center for Community Health Alignment CHW Certification Training | October 9-December 8 | Register before September 8th here | For South Carolina CHWs

El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center: Seeking CHWs! | Register here

United Mental Health Promoters Webinars | Thursdays via Zoom 10am-11:30am PST

CSU Ohio CHW Certificate Program | Application information here

Introducing the “I am a CHW” campaign! | Ongoing

Online Course: Advocacy Training for Community Health Workers
Ongoing | Online

Online Course: Strengthening Community Health Worker Programs
Enrollment ongoing

Online: Course: Financing Community Health Programs for Scale and Sustainability (Self-Paced)
Ongoing | Online

Webinar: Engaging CHWs as Research Partners
Recorded | Online

CHW Voices: CHWs Submit Your Stories!
Rolling application process

Survey: CHW Central Feedback Form
We want to hear from you!

Job Opportunity: NACHW is Hiring
Ongoing | Online

Become an Intern at CHW Central

CHW Mental Health Survey: although the survey is closed, please follow @GeorgeInstitute and @H_S_Global on social media for updates and related collaborative work #CHWmentalhealth

Related

Recent Features

  • Rural health transformation by Community Health Volunteers. A case for Mangu Community Health unit, Nakuru County, Kenya.
  • Community Health Workers: The Lifeline of Primary Health Care in Kenya
  • A year like no other for Nairobi City County Community Health Workforce
  • Organizations urge African Union Summit to put the community health workforce on the agenda
  • Experiences of Community Health Assistants (CHA) with the implementation of the National Health Insurance Fund in Laikipia county

Twitter Feed

My Tweets

Our Partners

CHIC–Logo–Color (2023)
CORElogo_tag1_300dpi_0
Dimagi Deep Purple Standard Logo
HSG-Partners
HIFA-Partners
FAH-Partner
IntraHealth-Logo-for-General-Printing-Use
hopkins_logo.png
sss
JSI logo
NWRPCA-logo
PIH_logo_plum
Logo IMPaCT 2020
USAID logo
World Vision Logo

Footer

Important Site Links

About Us
Contact us
FAQ
Technical Advisory Group (TAG)
Partners

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Translate Site

CHW Central is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit organization.

Copyright © 2023 Initiatives Inc. · Contact Us · Log in
Digital Marketing by Bricks & Clicks Marketing