Kigali, Rwanda-In a move toward professionalizing Africa’s community health workforce, delegates from across the continent gathered in Kigali today to accelerate the integration of Certified Community Health Workers (CHWs) into national civil service systems.
The two-day consultative meeting, organized by the Health Development Partnership for Africa and the Caribbean (HeDPAC) and the Health and Public Service Network of Africa (HaPSNA), marks a significant step forward in strengthening primary healthcare delivery.
The meeting builds on the progress of the March 2025 Regional Conference in Monrovia, Liberia, where the HaPSNA framework for CHW integration was first endorsed by representatives from Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Liberia.
This week’s gathering aims to translate that framework into actionable national policy, with a sharp focus on salary alignment, wage structuring, and institutional recognition of CHWs within civil service frameworks.
Liberia at the Forefront
Delivering the opening statement, HaPSNA Chairman Dr. Josiah F. Joekai, Jr., who also heads Liberia’s Civil Service Agency, reaffirmed Liberia’s leadership role in driving the regional agenda forward.
He conveyed greetings from Liberian President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., and shared the country’s recent milestones, including the successful onboarding of 600 volunteer community health workers onto the national payroll system under the National Community Health Program (NCHP).
“This meeting is not merely a continuation of past discussions,” said Dr. Joekai. “It is a foundational step in operationalizing our shared vision for a coordinated, country-led approach to community health. Our collective responsibility is to institutionalize the role of community health workers—those who are often the first and sometimes the only point of contact for healthcare in remote and underserved communities,” Dr. Joekai noted.
Strengthening Monitoring Tools
A major focus of the Kigali consultation is the finalization of the Delivery Maturity Index, a new strategic tool to assess the effectiveness and responsiveness of national community health systems.
The tool will be instrumental in evaluating key health cadres, including Community Health Services Supervisors (CHSSs), Community Health Assistants (CHAs), Community Health Promoters (CHPs), and Trained and Traditional Midwives (TTMs).
Participants include ministers, policymakers, civil service leaders, development partners, and public health experts from across Central Africa and members of the HaPSNA founding states.
The Kigali meeting underscores a growing consensus across Africa that frontline health workers deserve formal recognition, fair compensation, and long-term institutional support.
With Liberia taking a leading role, the continent is moving closer to building resilient, community-driven health systems.
