The third community health workers’ symposium, Liberia, 2023: What are the implications for South Sudan’s Boma Health Initiative?

Abstract

Community health workers (CHWs) are defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as healthcare workers who ‘provide health education, referral and follow-up, case management, basic preventive health care and home visiting services to specific communities. This paper is a synthesis report on the third CHWs’ symposium held in Monrovia, Liberia in March 2023 and its implications for the South Sudan version, the Boma Health Workers (BHWs). It documents the notes on the conference deliberations supplemented by literature on the Boma Health Initiative in particular and CHWs in general. The key thematic areas were institutionalization and integration of CHW programmes into the health system, human resource recruitment, training and retention, CHWs in conflict and complex emergencies, effect of gender, and measuring performance. The Symposium was a platform for sharing information on best practices and challenges facing CHW programmes across nations. In the Monrovia Call to Action, the Symposium urged stakeholders to invest in country-led strategies, professionalize and integrate CHWs into the national human resources and health sector plans, galvanise political support and track progress.