A delegation of CHWs advocate for salaries, skills, and supplies in Liberia. (Photo courtesy of Community Health Impact Coalition)
Health coalitions did the research, coordinated with donors, and secured strong government buy-in. Now, community health workers are finally getting the credit—and pay—they deserve.
By Sheringham Odhiambo, Madeleine Ballard, Ben Pyne and Kathryn Harrison, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Photo: Community Health Impact Coalition, February 24, 2025
Ten years ago, I (Sheringham) was going door-to-door, providing routine health checks, administering vaccinations, and managing cases of HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, and other debilitating diseases for residents of Mathare slum in Nairobi, Kenya. As I trekked across miles of dirt roads on foot, lugging a backpack full of supplies I had cobbled together, I wondered how much longer I could sustain this work without a steady paycheck. After all, I still had to care for my own family: my wife and three girls.
Fast-forward to 2022. I’m standing in the Kenyan Parliament shoulder-to-shoulder with 62 other community health workers (CHWs) from our Kenyan advocacy association, speaking to decision-makers in one unified voice with a clear demand: Pay us for our labor.
It worked: In 2023, Kenya announced it would provide monthly stipends, essential equipment, digital monitoring tools, and health insurance to me and 100,000 of my peers—a huge win for Kenya, one of the most populated and influential African countries, as well as for the global effort to formally recognize CHWs.
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