CHW Central

A global resource for and about Community Health Workers

CHW Role

Iranian health houses open the door to primary care

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This article reviews Iran’s “Health Houses,” which were conceived and introduced during the country’s 1980-1988 war with Iraq. The health houses are run by trained CHWs, called behvarzan, who provide basic health care to most of the country's rural population. Female behvarz are typically responsible for child and maternal health, vaccinations, registration and administering … [Read more...] about Iranian health houses open the door to primary care

On the front line of primary health care: the profile of community health workers in rural Quechua communities in Peru

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This article profiles CHWs, including health promoters, traditional birth attendants and traditional healers, serving rural Quechua communities from Ayacucho, Peru. It uses both quantitative and qualitative information from questionnaires, personal interviews and group discussions conducted in 40 communities. The majority of CHWs in Ayacucho are men with limited education who … [Read more...] about On the front line of primary health care: the profile of community health workers in rural Quechua communities in Peru

Tackling social factors to save lives in India

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This article from the Bulletin of the WHO, describes various roles played by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), India's national cadre of village-based workers, and other innovative community health programs working on maternal and child health, sanitation and hygiene, contraception, immunization and other health issues. CHWs are making major contributions to national … [Read more...] about Tackling social factors to save lives in India

Community performance-based financing in health: Incentivizing mothers and community health workers to improve maternal health outcomes in Rwanda

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This paper is one of a series of background papers commissioned by WHO for the October, 2011, World Conference on Social Determinants of Health. It describes Rwanda's attempt to improve maternal indicators by pairing a community performance-based financing (CPBF) strategy to empower CHWs with a strategy to incentivize mothers. The pilot intervention was conducted in 31 of … [Read more...] about Community performance-based financing in health: Incentivizing mothers and community health workers to improve maternal health outcomes in Rwanda