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

MESA, the malaria knowledge hub, would like to invite you to participate in the upcoming 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. Some countries with a high burden of malaria have adopted a model whereby CHWs are trained to timely test, treat, monitor and/refer malaria cases. These models have contributed to a substantial reduction in malaria cases in some of these countries; however, their implementation presents a number of challenges mainly related to the supervision, supply and support of CHWs.

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 forum seeks to support CHWs in effectively combating malaria by advocating for necessary resources. It aims to address challenges faced by current CHW models in alleviating the burden of malaria within communities. Additionally, the forum endeavors to explore strategies for creating equitable and sustainable CHW models. Lastly, it advocates for the professionalization of CHWs, recognizing their vital role in healthcare provision.

Date: 9th April 2024

Time: 2 pm CET

Duration: 1h30

Format: Open-access via Zoom platform with prior pre-registration of the participants. In addition, the event will be streamed live via the MESA YouTube channel. It will be conducted in English with French translation.

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.

Please register to attend the event via this link.

*You can send us your questions through the Zoom registration form or via e-mail (mesa@isglobal.org)

AGENDA:

Opening & Welcoming remarks: Introduction to the session (agenda and speakers) [AP & NW]

Presentations:

• Sustainability and challenges in malaria prevention: CHW perspective from the frontlines [MO]
• The role of community health workers in accelerating progress towards disease elimination: challenges, opportunities and sustainability [EKA]
• Counting CHWs…as they count in the journey towards Universal Health Coverage [MM]
• Improving the management of community health worker networks to increase access to effective malaria diagnosis and treatment [HN]

Discussion: Q&A

• Question and Answer session [Open to all]

Closing remarks [AP]