Economic and Gender Justice for Women Community Health Workers

Community health workers (CHWs) deliver primary health care to over one billion people in low-and middle-income countries. Women are the majority of CHWs worldwide and are often the first, and sometimes only, point of contact with the health system for communities. Yet most women CHWs are not in formal sector jobs, they are uncounted, subject to violence and harassment, and do not have the salaries, professional skills, supervision, and supplies they need to succeed. Women CHWs face multiple forms of gender discrimination. Professionalising CHWs is a matter of gender and economic justice and will benefit all health systems’ users.