COMMUNITY HEALTH VOLUNTEERS (CHV)
In Nairobi ghettos like Mathare, community health volunteers (CHVs)
offer health services to vulnerable residents and form a very integral
part of the local community. They live in and are neighbors of those who
they care for. Their main role is to help identify community members who
have not been reached by the paid public health officers and connect
them to available medical facilities. They passionately attend to the
sick and the elderly, who at times don’t even have a family member to
assist them in accessing medications and even food.
Mwangi from Mathare shared:
“There are so many services given to people in the community, as we
speak I have de-worming medicine with me in the house, I also have ORS
for those who have vomiting issues. I give first aid to the patient and
if I need support I call an ambulance for help, I also have condoms and
I give them to people but some people fear having them, for that, I put
them in a secret place for people to take them. We also train them on
how to use it, to reduce the spread of HIV AIDS.”
Even if the government relies on them for rolling out different health
programs, including those that support the government approach to
COVID19, the CHV work on a voluntary basis with little or no support.
Ruth from Mathare shared:
“I would like the government to pay CHV so that we can get flour and
other food to eat, also to employ some of the CHVs. And if there are
Jobs in the health facility, they give the CHVs.”
Our research even shows that sometimes they even help fellow community
members financially so they can get the medical attention they so
desperately need. As ghetto residents, they suffer from the economic
downturn as much as other ghetto residents and they combine odd jobs
with the few daily stipends they may receive from health campaigns by
NGOs and government. They also depend on access to courses organized in
the community by the ministry of health or other private organizations
e.g. the polio immunization, reproductive health workshops, Gender Based
violence and others.
Community dialogue with CHVs in Korogocho (Image)
The CHVs work in a very risky environment due to lack of protective gear
and proper training to help them cope with the dire situations they come
across. Some of these CHVs have medical conditions themselves and cannot
afford medical cover despite attending to other patients. They don’t have
a reliable source of income where some are at an advanced age with
several dependents within their care. They have passionately offered to
put their life on the line despite the many challenges they have to
face.
Community dialogue with CHVs in Mathare (Image)
To many residents of the Nairobi informal settlements like Korogocho and
Mathare, CHVs are the first contact persons they can rely on in case of
a health emergence. The CHVs have attended to many expectant mothers and
successfully assisted them with childbirth in the absence of medical
personnel. They offer nutritional advice to parents to reduce cases of
undernourishment among the children in the informal settlement. They are
very accessible and their work has no day off or leave like their
salaried counterparts in the public or private health facilities. Our
CHVs should be recognized for their great role in the society and
remunerated with a stipend or even a salary as an appreciation for their
dedication to serve the community. Who will come to their rescue? Who
will hear their humble but genuine cry?