To achieve universal health coverage, health systems will have to reach into every community, including the poorest and hardest to access. Since Alma-Ata, inconsistent support of community health workers (CHWs) and failure to integrate them into the health system have impeded full realization of their potential contribution in the context of primary health care. Scaling up and … [Read more...] about Community health workers for universal health-care coverage: from fragmentation to synergy
Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Engaging the Missing Link: Evidence from FALAH for Involving Men in Family Planning in Pakistan
Results from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Family Advancement for Life and Health project (FALAH), implemented from 2008-2012, show that the inclusion of men in family planning (FP) efforts is a feasible and effective intervention to help shift attitudes and behaviours in Pakistan and perhaps in other countries in the region and globally … [Read more...] about Engaging the Missing Link: Evidence from FALAH for Involving Men in Family Planning in Pakistan
mHealth Field Guide for Newborn Health
Mobile health, or “mHealth”, seeks to address the use of mobile technology to provide health services and information. Due to the increased risk in a child’s life during those weeks after birth, mHealth technologies can be utilized through referral and tracking of mothers and infants, decision support for CHW, CHW supervision, scheduling and tracking postpartum and postnatal … [Read more...] about mHealth Field Guide for Newborn Health
Acting on the Call June 2016 Report
USAID's 2016 Acting on the Call Report provides updates from the program that aims to end preventable maternal and child deaths in 25 priority countries, which together accounted for more than two-thirds of child and maternal deaths worldwide. This report outlines how 8 million women and children's lives can be saved by 2020 and examines inequitable access to maternal and … [Read more...] about Acting on the Call June 2016 Report
CHWs and Mental Health: Equipping community health workers with essential skills for addressing mental health and violence in the home
This full version of a previous feature goes into detail about CHWs and mental health. CHWs encounter psychosocial issues on a daily basis, but their training does not cover this area. This paper discusses the role CHWs can potentially fill in regards to mental health care, the evidence showing the effectiveness of such care, and World Vision’s approach to training CHWs in … [Read more...] about CHWs and Mental Health: Equipping community health workers with essential skills for addressing mental health and violence in the home