BMJ Global Health (Jun 2020)
Prioritising the role of community health workers in the COVID-19 response
- Nandini Choudhury,
- Ryan Schwarz,
- David Flood,
- Daniel Palazuelos,
- Madeleine Ballard,
- Emily Bancroft,
- Josh Nesbit,
- Ari Johnson,
- Isaac Holeman,
- Jennifer Foth,
- Debbie Rogers,
- Jane Yang,
- James Nardella,
- Helen Olsen,
- Mallika Raghavan,
- Raj Panjabi,
- Rebecca Alban,
- Serah Malaba,
- Molly Christiansen,
- Stephanie Rapp,
- Jennifer Schechter,
- Patrick Aylward,
- Ash Rogers,
- Jacques Sebisaho,
- Clarise Ako,
- Carey Westgate,
- Julius Mbeya,
- Matthew H Bonds,
- Rehan Adamjee,
- Julia Bishop,
- Amanda Yembrick,
- Meg McLaughlin
Affiliations
- Nandini Choudhury
- Ryan Schwarz
- David Flood
- Daniel Palazuelos
- Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Madeleine Ballard
- Community Health Impact Coalition, New York, New York, USA
- Emily Bancroft
- VillageReach, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Josh Nesbit
- Medic Mobile, San Francisco, California, USA
- Ari Johnson
- Muso, Bamako, Mali
- Isaac Holeman
- Medic Mobile, San Francisco, California, USA
- Jennifer Foth
- Living Goods, Nairobi, Kenya
- Debbie Rogers
- Praekelt.org, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Jane Yang
- Muso, Bamako, Mali
- James Nardella
- Last Mile Health, Monrovia, Liberia
- Helen Olsen
- Medic Mobile, San Francisco, California, USA
- Mallika Raghavan
- Last Mile Health, Monrovia, Liberia
- Raj Panjabi
- Last Mile Health, Monrovia, Liberia
- Rebecca Alban
- VillageReach, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Serah Malaba
- Living Goods, Nairobi, Kenya
- Molly Christiansen
- Living Goods, Nairobi, Kenya
- Stephanie Rapp
- Muso, Bamako, Mali
- Jennifer Schechter
- Integrate Health, Lome, Togo
- Patrick Aylward
- Integrate Health, Lome, Togo
- Ash Rogers
- Lwala Community Alliance, Rongo, Kenya
- Jacques Sebisaho
- Amani Global Works, Idjwi Island, Congo
- Clarise Ako
- Amani Global Works, Idjwi Island, Congo
- Carey Westgate
- Community Health Impact Coalition, New York, New York, USA
- Julius Mbeya
- Lwala Community Alliance, Rongo, Kenya
- Matthew H Bonds
- Harvard Medical School Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Blavatnik Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Rehan Adamjee
- VITAL Pakistan, Karachi, Pakistan
- Julia Bishop
- One to One Africa, Cape Town, South Africa
- Amanda Yembrick
- Medic Mobile, San Francisco, California, USA
- Meg McLaughlin
- THINKMD, Burlington, Vermont, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002550
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 5,
no. 6
Abstract
COVID-19 disproportionately affects the poor and vulnerable. Community health workers are poised to play a pivotal role in fighting the pandemic, especially in countries with less resilient health systems. Drawing from practitioner expertise across four WHO regions, this article outlines the targeted actions needed at different stages of the pandemic to achieve the following goals: (1) PROTECT healthcare workers, (2) INTERRUPT the virus, (3) MAINTAIN existing healthcare services while surging their capacity, and (4) SHIELD the most vulnerable from socioeconomic shocks. While decisive action must be taken now to blunt the impact of the pandemic in countries likely to be hit the hardest, many of the investments in the supply chain, compensation, dedicated supervision, continuous training and performance management necessary for rapid community response in a pandemic are the same as those required to achieve universal healthcare and prevent the next epidemic.
