Kampala, 18 October 2024 – Health Authorities in Uganda have committed to invest in Community Health Workers (CHEWs) to advance health systems in the country. This emerged from the three-day discussion at the third Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Conference, organized by the Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and other partners.  The conference was held in Kampala from October 16 to 18, 2024.

Building on the achievements of conferences held in 2019 and 2022, this third edition was organized under the theme “Building resilient health systems for disease prevention through strengthening community health workers.” It explored innovative strategies, digital transformations, sustainable practices, and effective partnerships to build robust health systems capable of preventing disease and improving community well-being.

During the event, Uganda's Minister of Health, the Hon. Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, emphasized that the country is now focusing on improving the capacity of community health workers to provide first-level, sustainable support for health interventions within communities. “Moving forward, we are focusing on training Community Health Workers (CHEWs) by providing them with comprehensive practical knowledge and skills to support healthcare services within the community," she said.

Discussions also focused on key areas for improving community healthcare services. These included the power of digital tools to reshape health narratives and strengthen health promotion efforts, the importance of forging strong partnerships and securing sustainable funding to support the vital work of community health workers, and the need to promote early linkage and referral to preventive clinical and surgical care.

Dr Charles Njuguna, the acting WHO Representative to Uganda, noted that inequalities in access and health coverage disproportionately impact vulnerable groups in our communities, resulting in poor and widespread health outcomes. “There is a need to reorient national health systems towards primary health care (PHC) to lay the foundations for long-term universal health coverage, health equity, and health security,” he explained. 

Dr. Njuguna added that “properly trained and supported community health workers can effectively deliver limited preventive, promotive and curative PHC services to improve community health outcomes,” which is a significant step towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3.

The conference also had a session on Uganda's 50 years of commitment to global immunization service delivery under the slogan “EPI @50.” While national celebrations are slated for later in the year, conference presenters and participants acknowledged the pivotal role of CHWs in immunization programmes, especially in mobilizing communities for service uptake.

Keynote speaker Dr Jean Kaseya, Director General of Africa CDC, praised the Ugandan government's commitment to health promotion and disease prevention. He also announced that “Africa CDC will support the deployment of 500 community health workers in Wakiso district to support zero-dose childhood immunization.”

Over the past 46 years, several international declarations, charters, frameworks, and strategies have guided countries in achieving universal health coverage by building the capacity of community health workers. For example, the 1978 Alma Ata Declaration on PHC in health care development; the 1986 Ottawa Charter on health promotion action; the 1988 Adelaide Conference on health public policy; and the 1991 Sundsvall Conference on sustainable environments, among others.

All these landmark conferences identified the empowerment of individuals and communities through community health workers as an essential element of successful health service delivery. Dr. Njuguna further noted, "It is important that we all support the government's efforts to expand the CHEWs program throughout the country because it is directly linked to the Parish Development Model, the government strategy of spurring social and economic development in communities”.