By: Ronald Ng’eno

Originally posted on VillageReach

“In the village, people call me doctor. I am respected by my community,” says Martha Masawa with pride. “People come to me for help. They ask for medicine and advice. I’m happy because now I’m a ‘doctor’ and have medical knowledge. I can give medicine and advise people to do this and that. I never used to do this in the past!”

Martha’s journey as a Community Health Worker (CHW) began in 2015 when her community and the area chief appointed her to serve as a Community Health Volunteer (Community Health Workers are called Community Health Promoters in Kenya and were first known as Community Health Volunteers).

“It was new at that time,” she recalls. “Our community didn’t understand what a Community Health Volunteer meant. We were taken for training, where we learned how to approach the community, talk to them and explain our work. As a volunteer, you teach people how to live.”

In Kenya, CHWs act as vital links between health facilities and communities. They promote healthy practices like hygiene and immunization, screen for common illnesses, encourage clinic visits and provide guidance on maternal and child health issues during household visits. Martha explains her responsibilities: “My role is to visit households and check if they have a latrine, a dish rack and safe drinking water. If there are children under five, I ask if they’ve been vaccinated. If there’s a pregnant mother, I ensure she’s attending the clinic. This is the work we do.”

CHWs also play a crucial role in the early detection and referral of health issues, enabling patients to receive specialized care on time, before it is too late. Martha shares a story that highlights her impact:
“I once visited a middle-aged couple who were constantly unwell. They kept taking kaluma (a type of antiallergy medicine) every evening. When I visited, they were always in bed and uninterested in food. I sat them down and advised them to get tested at a nearby clinic instead of relying on kaluma. They listened, went for testing and discovered they had HIV. Now they’re managing their condition, living happily and working as usual. They came back to thank me, saying, ‘Martha, you really helped us.’”

This story underscores how CHWs like Martha are deeply trusted by their communities and save lives by bridging gaps and making primary health care responsive to community and individual needs.

Expanding Roles and New Tools
Over the years, the scope of CHWs’ work in Kenya has expanded significantly. In 2024, Martha and her colleagues received health kits containing tools such as blood pressure monitors, glucometers, malaria testing kits, child nutrition assessment tape (MUAC tape), wound dressing kits, deworming tablets and painkillers. These kits have revolutionized how CHWs serve their communities.

“The community really appreciates these commodities,” Martha says. “For example, I have a diabetic patient who used to travel far to test his blood sugar. Now, he comes to me as his neighbor, and I test his sugar levels. This helps him manage his medication better and reduces the need for frequent hospital visits.” This highlights how CHWs extend the reach of the health care systems to people’s homes, removing barriers of distance and time.

She shares another instance: “A neighbor who used to fall sick all the time discovered she had high blood pressure after I tested her. Now, she’s on medication and doing well. She calls me every two days, saying, ‘Martha, bring that machine so I can test my pressure!’”

CHWs use an electronic Community Health Information System (eCHIS) on government-issued smartphones to manage the commodities effectively. “There’s a section in eCHIS for commodity self-assessment,” Martha explains. “It asks how much we’ve used and how much remains. When something is finished, we record it and submit it to the Community Health Assistant (CHA), who then reports it to the county.”

Training and Future Aspirations
To enhance their capacity, CHWs in Migori County, including Martha, received training from VillageReach and Lwala Community Alliance to manage health products. They learned to report stock levels proactively to avoid shortages. The training was so successful, that the Kenyan government decided to scale the training to the national level; now all CHWs in Kenya will be trained on community health product management.

Martha is eager for more training to expand her skills. “I want to be able to test for HIV,” she says. “We’re already trained in counseling for STIs and HIV and we can identify symptoms. But being able to test and counsel people would allow us to give even better advice.”

Martha receives a stipend from the national government and the County Government of Migori, which she deeply appreciates. “Being a CHW has benefited me. The stipend helps support my family.”

As part of the broader Community Health Unit for Universal Health Coverage (CHU4UHC) — a platform representing a dynamic partnership between the Ministry of Health and leading development organizations committed to advancing community health in Kenya — VillageReach and Lwala Community Alliance work together on the Supply Chain for CHWs project. This initiative aims to strengthen last-mile health commodity availability for CHWs in Kenya, including supporting the deployment of the eCHIS.

At VillageReach, we collaborate with governments and communities to professionalize CHW services, ensuring they have the tools and resources needed to keep their communities healthy. We are members of the Community Health Impact Coalition (CHIC), which aims to make professional community health workers (proCHWs) the norm worldwide. We advocate to ensure CHWs are salaried, supplied, supported and supervised.

Martha Masawa’s story is a testament to the critical role CHPs play in transforming lives and improving health care access. With ongoing training and support, she’s not just a bridge between health centers and the community—she’s a lifeline for her neighbors.

Ronald Ngeno is a Communications Manager at VillageReach. VillageReach works with governments, the private sector, partners and communities to build responsive primary health care systems that deliver health products, information and services to the most under-reached. For more information on our Supply Chain for Community Health Workers program in Kenya, please get in touch with George Nzioka at george.nzioka@villagereach.org