A comparative study of an NGO-sponsored CHW programme versus a ministry of health sponsored CHW programme in rural Kenya: a process evaluation

Author's response to reviews Title:Title: A comparative study of an NGO-sponsored CHW Program versus a Ministry of Health sponsored CHW program in rural Kenya: Process Evaluation Authors:

Examining the Implementation of the Free Maternity Services Policy in Kenya: A Mixed Methods Process Evaluation

Background Kenya introduced a free maternity policy in 2013 to address the cost barrier associated with accessing maternal health services. We carried out a mixed methods process evaluation of the policy to examine the extent to which the policy had been implemented according to design, and positive experiences and challenges encountered during implementation.   Methods We conducted a mixed met...

The Governance of National Community Health Worker Programmes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: An Empirically Based Framework of Governance Principles, Purposes and Tasks

Background National community health worker (CHW) programmes are increasingly regarded as an integral component of primary healthcare (PHC) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). At the interface of the formal health system and communities, CHW programmes evolve in context specific ways, with unique cadres and a variety of vertical and horizontal relationships. These programmes need...

Relaunch of the official community health worker programme in Mozambique: is there a sustainable basis for iCCM policy?

BACKGROUND In Mozambique, integrated community case management (iCCM) of diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia is embedded in the national community health worker (CHW) programme, mainstreaming it into government policy and service delivery. Since its inception in 1978, the CHW programme has functioned unevenly, was suspended in 1989, but relaunched in 2010. To assess the long-term success of iCCM i...

Affordability of comprehensive community health worker programmes in rural sub-Saharan Africa

INTRODUCTION Community health worker (CHW) programmes have low costs per person served and are central to achieving universal healthcare. However, their total cost is high and the target of one million CHWs for sub-Saharan Africa by 2015 was not met. We consider the affordability of rural CHW programmes by estimating total programme costs relative to national healthcare expenditure at different...