Community-based health workers (CHWs)
WHO guideline on health policy and system support to optimize community-based health worker (CHW) programmes
Recent years have seen growing interest and attention in the potential of various types of CHWs in reducing inequities in access to essential health services, particularly in under-served or excluded, vulnerable populations. The WHO Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030 encourages countries to adopt a diverse, sustainable skills mix, harnessing the potential of community-based and mid-level health workers in inter-professional primary care teams. WHO developed the Guideline on health policy and system support to optimize community health worker programmes to assist national governments, and their partners, to improve the design, implementation, performance and evaluation of CHW programmes, thereby contributing to the attainment of universal health coverage and the health Sustainable Development Goal targets.
At the close of 2025, we published two new resources for ministries of health and their partners seeking to strengthen their primary health care programmes both through assessing and enhancing competency based learning for CHWs and by using a step by step health labour market approach for programme integration.
Global curriculum guide for community health workers
The contribution of community health workers (CHWs) to universal health coverage and their performance can be optimized through appropriate health workforce...
Integrating community health workers into health systems: a step-by-step policy implementation guide
This guide presents steps that policy-makers, planners, managers and their partners should undertake when considering a national or subnational policy...
Resolutions & reports
- World Health Assembly Report of the Director General A72/13: Community health workers delivering primary health care: opportunities and challenges
- Seventy-second World Health Assembly Resolution WHA72.3: Community health workers delivering primary health care: opportunities and challenges
- WHA A75/15 - Global strategy on human resources for health: workforce 2030 - Report by the Director-General *including first global report on CHW figures
WHO guideline on health policy and system support to optimize community health worker...
Publications
All →Global curriculum guide for community health workers
The contribution of community health workers (CHWs) to universal health coverage and their performance can be optimized through appropriate health workforce...
Integrating community health workers into health systems: a step-by-step policy implementation guide
This guide presents steps that policy-makers, planners, managers and their partners should undertake when considering a national or subnational policy...
Optimizing community health worker programmes for HIV services
This guide identifies interventions in prevention, testing, treatment, care, clinical management and support services for the HIV and related co-morbidities...
The role of community health workers in COVID-19 vaccination: Implementation support guide
This guide is intended to support national governments developing their national deployment and vaccination plans (NDVPs) for COVID-19 vaccines by outlining...
What do we know about community health workers? A systematic review of existing reviews
Community health workers (CHWs) are health care providers who live in the community they serve and receive lower levels of formal education and training...
Health policy and system support to optimize CHW programmes for HIV, TB and Malaria services: an evidence...
The past two decades have seen unprecedented progress in fighting HIV, TB and malaria, although a further acceleration is required to achieve national...
WHO guideline on health policy and system support to optimize community health worker programmes
Addressing health workforce shortage, maldistribution and performance challenges is essential for progress towards all health-related goals, including...
Selected highlights: WHO guideline on health policy and system support to optimize community health worker...
Despite the wide recognition and the substantial evidence of their positive potential, the support for CHWs and their integration into health systems and...
WHO guidelines
WHO guideline on health policy and system support to optimize community health worker...
Additional publications
Guideline development documents
- What do we know about community-based health worker programs? A systematic review of existing reviews on community health workers
- Stakeholders’ perceptions of policy options to support the integration of community health workers in health systems
- Planning Proposal
- Results of the online public consultation
- Optimizing Community Health Worker Programmes - A Search Strategy for 15 Systematic Reviews