Kenya seeks to train 107,831 Community Health Workers to boost primary health care at the grassroots and target under-served populations.
The training will be done by the Ministry of Health under the African Union Resilient and Empowered African Community Health (REACH) programme.
The REACH Initiative is a joint effort between the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the Kenya Red Cross, Prudence Foundation and the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Health.
The programme will see 25,000 trained in the first phase.
It targets to train and increase Community Health Workers (CHWs) to over more than a million globally by 2029.
Under the first phase of the initiative, the 25,000 CHWs newly recruited in Kenya will be trained in community health.
They will also be trained on the use of Community Health Promotion kits and Electronic Community Health Information System (ECHIS) to strengthen monitoring and evaluation.
The REACH initiative was launched in October 2022 to enhance the community health workforce's ability to deliver evidence-based health interventions.
Kenya is among the 12 countries identified for initial support in the first phase of the initiative.
“The REACH initiative is our beacon of hope and aligns seamlessly with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and Afya Nyumbani, reinforcing our commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC),” Health CS Susan Nakhumicha said.
According to the Africa CDC Director General Jean Kasea, community health workers are instrumental in realizing health coverage and health security on the continent.
"The REACH programme is a testament to our heads of state's vision, and it stands as a significant step towards the development of a resilient health system," Kasea said.
The initiative has received its initial seed funding from Prudence Foundation, the community investment arm of Prudential plc in Asia and Africa, for the initial start-up of REACH activities in Kenya.
REACH is expected to contribute to the development of country-driven support plans, aligning with Kenya's health initiatives and ensuring accountability at all levels.
"The REACH initiative aims to enhance Kenya's healthcare system by empowering communities, expanding the Community Health Worker workforce and achieving Universal Health Coverage,” Mohamed Babiker said.
Babiker is the IFRC Head of Delegation, Nairobi Country Cluster for Somalia and Kenya.
Kenyans will benefit from enhanced health service delivery in the coming years, with the initiative playing a critical role in improving access to primary healthcare services, particularly in remote and underserved areas.
The REACH initiative will be integral to Kenya’s journey towards achieving universal health coverage.
