MESA FORUM: Opportunities for implementing and sustaining Community Health Workers in malaria control and prevention

Community health workers (CHWs) are increasingly central to the delivery of community interventions in low-and middle-income countries, and have been pivotal to progress in malaria control, from supporting case management of fever, treatment access, and delivery of mass drug administration in campaigns for interventions such as seasonal malaria chemoprevention in the Sahel region. CHWs, majority of whom are women, are a critical workforce that, if treated as professionals and well-integrated in national health systems, has an enormous potential to extend health care services to those who need them most. There is intense advocacy on the need for CHWs to be professionalized and salaried not only for equity, but also for program sustainability. 

The MESA Alliance organized a virtual forum to support CHWs in effectively combating malaria by advocating for necessary resources. It aimed to address challenges faced by current CHW models in alleviating the burden of malaria within communities. Additionally, the forum endeavored to explore strategies for creating equitable and sustainable CHW models. Lastly, it advocated for the professionalization of CHWs, recognizing their vital role in healthcare provision.

PANELISTS:

Chairs: Abigail Pratt – Senior Program Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Nana Aba Williams – MESA Coordinator, Barcelona Institute for Global Health

• Margaret Odera, MoH Kenya & Community Health Impact Coalition
• Evelyn Korkor Ansah, University of Health and Allied Sciences
• Maureen Momanyi, UNICEF
• Harriet Napier, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc.
• Lassana M. Jabateh, Partners in Health, Liberia

Forum Materials:

• Slide deck of the presentation
• Forum recording
• Responses to the unanswered questions received before and during the forum: Q&A document