Community health workers – key to children’s vaccination and health
Voluntary health workers in Mongolia will get paid as Government resolution takes effect
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- Mongolian
The Government of Mongolia has formally recognized Community Health Workers (CHW) as part of the health workforce with resolution #240 dated 21 June 2023. This is an important milestone in health care in the country advocated and supported by UNICEF and its partners.
UNICEF has been working with the Government of Mongolia to train and support community health workers since 2019 with the revised curriculum.
Community health workers are public health workers. Their goal is to connect communities with vaccination and primary health care services. Community health workers are typically citizens of the community who serve and support the health system as volunteers or paid aides.
UNICEF recognizes that community health workers are best positioned to deliver health services to children at home because they can speak to the communities and understand the specific needs of the families and children they serve. Especially with the local knowledge, they are able to reach the hard-reach children in remote areas.
“Community health workers are unsung heroes of the health sector everywhere. Especially, during the pandemic, they played a vital role in delivering essential treatment packages to families. UNICEF highly appreciates the decision made by the Government of Mongolia".
So far UNICEF Mongolia has trained over 540 community health workers. Now with the institutionalization of CHW, the Government has not only approved the salary scale and steps of CHW but will create an official occupational training program. UNICEF and Global Fund’s joint partnership started in 2023, will continue supporting Mongolia to further strengthen the role of CHWs as well as primary health care services.
“Community health workers are unsung heroes of the health sector everywhere. Especially, during the pandemic, CHWs have played a vital role by making home visits to deliver essential treatment packages to families. They are also key to children’s vaccination and health. That is why UNICEF highly appreciates the decision made by the Government of Mongolia. This will further help strengthen primary health services, especially coverage of routine vaccination and ante-natal care. And UNICEF together with Global Fund will be there to provide the support” says Evariste Kouassi-Komlan, UNICEF Representative in Mongolia.
