Community Health Workers in Pandemics: Evidence and Investment Implications

Community health workers (CHWs)—people trained to meet the health needs of their communities by delivering care in their communities—have been a critical part of health care delivery across diverse contexts for over a century.1 They have also been woefully under-supported: recent estimates suggest that across the African continent, more than 4 in 5 CHWs are unpaid.2 In the context of increasing global health insecurity and a burgeoning health workforce crisis, this trend must change. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic reminds us that CHWs who are equipped, trained, and paid as part of a well-functioning health system can help keep pandemics in check and maintain health services equity and access.

Keywords

Community health workers, coronavirus, health services

Citation

Ballard, M., Johnson, A., Mwanza, I., Ngwira, H., Schechter, J., Odera, M., ... & Nepomnyashchiy, L. (2022). Community health workers in pandemics: evidence and investment implications. Global Health: Science and Practice, 10(2).https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00648

URI

https://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/7796

Collections

Medical and Health Sciences

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