Community Health Workers in Pandemics: Evidence and Investment Implications

Abstract

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.