The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa demonstrates key deficiencies in investment in health systems. Despite some modest investment in health systems, our field has instead largely chosen to pursue shorter-term, vertical efforts to more rapidly address key global health issues such as smallpox, polio, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. While those efforts have yielded … [Read more...] about It’s not Ebola…it’s the systems
Asia
A Commitment to Community Health Workers: Improving Data for Decision Making
In a new policy report, the Frontline Health Workers Coalition and partners call for human resources for health (HRH) stakeholders to create a common definition for the “community health worker” along with an agreed-upon set of core tasks and competencies, using the International Labour Organization definition as a guiding framework. To enhance the quality and … [Read more...] about A Commitment to Community Health Workers: Improving Data for Decision Making
Developing and Strengthening Community Health Worker Programs at Scale: A Reference Guide and Case Studies for Program Managers and Policymakers
Welcome to Developing and Strengthening Community Health Worker Programs at Scale: A Reference Guide and Case Studies for Program Managers and Policymakers (the CHW Reference Guide). This guide is a long and detailed volume that is not intended to be read from cover to cover but rather to be used as a document that can be referred to as specific issues or questions arise. In … [Read more...] about Developing and Strengthening Community Health Worker Programs at Scale: A Reference Guide and Case Studies for Program Managers and Policymakers
Home visits by community health workers to prevent neonatal deaths in developing countries: a systematic review
The last three decades have witnessed a significant fall in mortality rates among children under 5 years of age in developing countries, whereas neonatal mortality rates have decreased at a slower pace. This study aims to determine whether home visits for neonatal care by community health workers can reduce infant and neonatal deaths and stillbirths in resource-limited … [Read more...] about Home visits by community health workers to prevent neonatal deaths in developing countries: a systematic review
Understanding where parents take their sick children and why it matters: a multi-country analysis
Developing effective context-specific strategies to ensure that a high proportion of children receive timely and appropriate care requires knowing the source from which care is sought. Although Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) collect such data in disaggregated form, they are not made available in the standard DHS and MICS … [Read more...] about Understanding where parents take their sick children and why it matters: a multi-country analysis