Since the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978, community health volunteers (CHVs) have been at the forefront, providing health services, especially to underserved communities, in low-income countries. However, consolidation of CHVs position within formal health systems has proved to be complex and continue...s to challenge countries, as they devise strategies to strengthen primary healthcare. Malawi’s community health strategy, launched in 2017, is a novel attempt to harmonise the multiple health
service structures at the community level and strengthen service delivery through a team-based approach. The core community health team (CHT) consists of health surveillance assistants (HSAs), clinicians, environmental health officers and CHVs. This paper reviews Malawi’s strategy, with particular focus on the interface between HSAs, volunteers in community-based programmes and
the community health team. Our analysis identified key challenges that may impede the strategy’s implementation:
(1) inadequate training, imbalance of skill sets within CHTs and unclear job descriptions for CHVs; (2) proposed community-level interventions require expansion of pre-existing roles for most CHT members; and (3) district authorities may face challenges meeting financial obligations and filling community-level positions. For effective implementation, attention and further deliberation is needed on the appropriate forms of CHV support, CHT composition with possibilities of co-opting trained CHVs
from existing volunteer programmes into CHTs, review of CHT competencies and workload, strengthening coordination and communication across all community actors, and financing mechanisms. Policy support through the development of an addendum to the strategy, outlining opportunities for task-shifting between CHT members, CHVs’ expected duties and interactions with paid CHT personnel is recommended.
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A policy brief on the organization of prison health
Core Knowledge for Emergency Preparedness and Response
This resource is the third in a series of online guides for promoting positive mental health across the lifespan. This resource provides health and social service providers (“practitioners”) with current evidence-based approaches in the application of mental health promotion concepts and princip...les for refugees. It is intended to support practitioners, caregivers and others in incorporating best practice approaches to mental health promotion initiatives or programs directed toward refugees.
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Glob Health Sci Pract February 1, 2014 vol. 2 no. 1 p. 103-116
This report, written in partnership with various Royal Medical Colleges and Public Health England, sets out the essential actions to improve the physical health of adults with severe mental illness (SMI) across the NHS. The report makes practical recommendations for changes that will help adults wit...h SMI to receive the same standards of physical healthcare as the general population and reduce the risk of premature death.
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2nd edition. This new edition provides policy-makers, programme managers and health-service providers with the latest evidence-based guidance on clinical care. It includes information on how to establish and strengthen services, and outlines a human-rights-based approach to laws and policies on safe..., comprehensive abortion care. This guidelines is available in English; French, Spanish; Japanese; Russian; Portuguese; Romanian and Ukrainian
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Shortages of healthcare workers is detrimental to the health of communities, especially children. This paper describes the process of capacity building Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) to deliver integrated preventive and curative package of care of services to manage common childhood illness in h...ard-to-reach communities in Bondo Subcounty, Kenya
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The purpose of this document is to address specific needs and considerations for essential oral health services in the context of COVID-19 in accordance with WHO operational guidance on maintaining essential health services. This interim guidance is intended for public health authorities, chief dent...al officers at ministries of health and oral health care personnel working in private and public health sectors. The document may be subject to change as new information becomes available.
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A handbook for building skills, Updated 2013
This guidelines is aimed at humanitarian and human rights actors engaged in protection work, and is intended to act as an easy reference to the minimum standards to be met and the recommended guidelines to be followed in such work.
The 45 standards and 15 guidelines are reproduced in full, together... with a short explanation in each case of the main challenges they are designed to address
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