Introduction: A Policy Decision with Deep Gendered Consequences The recent suspension of U.S. foreign aid is not just a financial setback for health systems in East and Southern Africa—it is a gendered crisis that disproportionately affects women, girls, and community health workers (CHWs). Countries like Kenya, Zambia, Ethiopia, and Mali rely heavily on U.S. funding to … [Read more...] about The U.S. Foreign Aid Suspension: A Public Health Crisis with a Gendered Impact in East & Southern Africa
Community health workers
The Gender Case for Investing in Community Health
Community health is fundamental to primary healthcare (PHC), playing a crucial role in delivering essential services to remote populations and advancing Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Community Health Workers or Volunteers (CHWs) are central to these efforts, providing vital healthcare services and acting as catalysts for change, addressing deep-rooted issues such as gender … [Read more...] about The Gender Case for Investing in Community Health
The Looming Crisis in Community Health: The Impact of the US Foreign Aid Freeze on Community Health Worker Programs
In the last few weeks, US foreign assistance has come under attack by the Trump administration, with Elon Musk and his team effectively shutting down the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and freezing foreign aid. USAID sent stop work orders to all its contractors at the end of January 2025, leading to a halt in life-saving services across the world. … [Read more...] about The Looming Crisis in Community Health: The Impact of the US Foreign Aid Freeze on Community Health Worker Programs
There are lots of different kinds of CHWs: A proposed taxonomy for classifying community health workers
Community-based primary healthcare (CB-PHC) can mean different things. It can refer to the government’s “last-mile” PHC services, for example vaccinators providing services at an outreach site. It can also refer to what members of a community are doing collectively to improve their lives. Associated with these various types of activity there are various workers, volunteers and … [Read more...] about There are lots of different kinds of CHWs: A proposed taxonomy for classifying community health workers
Updates on Community Health and Primary Health Care – December 2024
Henry B. Perry, III, MD, PhD, MPH is a Senior Associate in the Health Systems Program of the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. He joined Hopkins in 2009; his career prior to that has included stints working with Future Generations, Curamericas Global, ICDDR,B, the BASICS Project in Bangladesh, and … [Read more...] about Updates on Community Health and Primary Health Care – December 2024