STRENGTHEN
HEALTH SYSTEMS
We work with governments to build and sustain exemplary community health programs, and we advocate globally for making professional community health workers the norm—and the core of strong primary care systems.
Equipped with evidence from nearly 20 years of delivering community-based primary healthcare, we know community health worker programs can only reach their greatest potential for impact when they are nationally prioritized, sustainably financed, and effectively managed.
We support governments to build strong community health systems where community health workers receive the skills, salaries, supplies, supervision, and system support they need to succeed as part of a workforce operating at national scale and integrated into the broader health system. At the global and national level, we advocate for policies that prioritize community-led primary care and mobilize political will and resilient financing for community health. As a core partner in Africa Frontline First, we’re working in coalition to unlock sustainable funding for community health across the continent and ensure it is invested effectively.
Building strong national community health systems
In partnership with governments, we design and strengthen data-driven community health systems: programs and policies that equip community and frontline health workers to deliver quality primary care and integrate them into the broader health system.
Our work targets critical levers to support high-performing professional community health workers, including:
- Workforce development and education: We partner with governments to design evidence-based training and supervision that improves community health workers’ knowledge, skills, and performance.
- Systems change: To create lasting change, we must identify the root causes holding patients back from accessing care and transform structures, policies, and power dynamics to enable universal access. We support governments to develop policies and strategies that promote standardized, quality, and adaptive community health programming.
- Digital health: Technology can accelerate all aspects of community health, from training to case management to disease surveillance. We build digital health solutions tailored to the needs of community and frontline health workers working in remote contexts—and the health leaders who support them.
- Health financing: Insufficient and fragmented funding prevents community health workers from reaching their full potential. We work to change that by partnering with governments to identify and secure sustainable, resilient funding streams for community health.
- Research and analysis: We design and implement community health program evaluations to assess and improve the effectiveness of these programs, and we share what we’ve learned globally.
Contributing to the global evidence base and driving progress toward universal health coverage
We work in coalition to influence practice and policy across Africa, ensuring aid funding for community health is used effectively and complemented by domestic resourcing. Our primary focus is advocating for change through regional and international bodies such as the World Health Organization and Africa CDC. We develop replicable guidance on designing, implementing, and sustaining integrated national community health systems, and we share our lessons learned with governments and peers.
Building from our experience co-founding coalitions like the Community Health Impact Coalition and advancing national advocacy strategies in partnership with ministries of health, we shape funding flows, build political will, and inform standards for quality community health systems. Through our leadership role as a founding member of Africa Frontline First (AFF), we unlock and deploy funding for community health from bilateral and multilateral donors, African governments, and philanthropy.
We believe community and frontline health workers deserve an equal say in the decisions that affect their communities. We provide opportunities for them to advocate for greater investment in community health programs and influence policies.
This work is much bigger than one organization alone. We are proud to be part of a global movement to build stronger health systems that advance health for all.
Join Us
TO BRING A HEALTH WORKER
WITHIN REACH OF EVERYONE,
EVERYWHERE.
SUPPORT OUR WORK >