There are more than 11,000 Community Health Workers (CHWs) deployed throughout the country of Togo. This cadre of workers is fragmented, and the roles of CHWs vary by implementing organization. In October, the government of Togo introduced a new plan titled “Roadmap 2025” that elevates health as a critical pillar of national development and prioritizes professionalized CHWs as part of the solution. We are thrilled that the government of Togo has committed to ensuring a coordinated, effective cadre of professionalized CHWs

Integrate Health is one of many partners that supports the Ministry of Health in Togo to achieve their universal health access goals. In this article, we describe Integrate Health’s experience applying the Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix (CHW AIM) to an existing CHW program while also deepening collaboration with government partners, specifically by harmonizing data. We hope the lessons learned from this experience will inspire other NGOs and governments to apply the evidence-based CHW AIM framework to their own work in order to propel CHW programs to a higher level of quality and impact.

Founded in 2004, Integrate Health helped to build one of the most effective HIV care programs in the country. In 2015, community members asked Integrate Health to expand services to include comprehensive primary healthcare. In close collaboration with the national, regional, and district health authorities, Integrate Health is supporting the scale-up of a community-owned, women-led healthcare system to five districts in northern Togo by 2021. A central part of this healthcare approach is a cadre of professionalized CHWs. Integrate Health supports 139 CHWs serving over 166,000 people. These CHWs deliver a suite of maternal and child health services including proactive case finding, integrated management of childhood illnesses, family planning, and referrals for complicated cases. Under the guidance of a dedicated supervisor, CHWs conduct routine door-to-door consultations to deliver high-quality services…more