Report on the Side Event on the Role of Community Health Workers and Volunteers in the Attainment of Universal Health Coverage and Health Security in Africa

The African Union (AU) convened an Extraordinary AU Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference on 23 – 27 May 2022 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The Extraordinary AU Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference deliberated on efforts set forth by African leaders to address the current humanitarian challenges that Africa is facing and have been exacerbated by the socio-economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and disasters across the Continent. During the summit, The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) partnered with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA) to co-organize a side event on the role of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in attaining Universal Health Coverage and Health Security. The purpose of the side event was to reinforce strategic partnership, government and donor’s commitment to the scale-up and institutionalization of CHWs in Africa.

Participants were Member states representatives, experts from development agencies and civil society organizations involved in Community Health systems strengthening on the continent. One critical area that was highlighted by participants is the need to increase the protection of CHWs in terms of their safety, medical coverage, remuneration and career development instead of considering CHWs as volunteers or just cheap labor.