Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have been instrumental in advocating for increased financing towards health in Kenya, playing a crucial role in shaping policies, monitoring their implementation, and providing evidence-based recommendations for improving health outcomes. CSOs have championed allocating, prioritising, and utilising resources for essential health programs, ranging from community health to primary healthcare, maternal and child health, TB, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. Through their efforts, CSOs have facilitated public participation, conducted research, monitored and evaluated health programs, and promoted social accountability, resulting in more effective utilisation of health resources.
Community Health Workers: The Unsung Heroes In Africa’s COVID-19 Response
The WHO defines Community Health Workers (CHWs) as lay people who live in the communities they serve and who function as a critical link between those communities and the primary-healthcare system. In Africa, they provide low-cost interventions for common maternal and pediatric health problems such as pneumonia, diarrhea, undernutrition, malaria, HIV, measles and now COVID-19. They also assist with immunization.