In 2007, a World Health Organization backed paper maintained, “As a rule, community health workers are poor and expect and require an income.” So why is it that thousands across the globe go unpaid? In her article “Thousands of health workers in Senegal receive no pay. Is that fair?” reporter Amy Costello explores the controversial issue through the medical clinic of the village Ngueringne Bambara in Senegal, West Africa. Though the Senegalese Community Health Workers (CHWs) provide lifesaving care similar to Hope Through Health’s CHWs, they, unlike HTH’s CHWs, are unpaid. Moving beyond the title of “Volunteers,” the Senegalese village community health workers are on the job 24/7, receiving only training and the feeling of helping their communities as compensation. However, with the question of “Is it ethical to ask them [community health workers] to do that for free?” comes the counter of “Is it ethical to leave them [the community] without any services?” Anthropologist Kenneth Maes who studies community health volunteers in Ethiopia offered his opinion in Costello’s article. “It’s easy to say we can’t afford [community health workers],” he said, “but it really takes a change in ideology, a change in values, a commitment to raising the money and convincing various players in international health that this is something worth putting money into.” Hope Through Health’s decision to pay its CHWs is necessary in helping to change the way health service workers are viewed. Seeking to professionalize the work being done, Hope Through Health offers monetary compensation to its workers in an effort to both legitimize and emphasize the vital role CHWs play in linking communities to healthcare services. In a culture where doctors are highly respected, CHWs deserve to be recognized for their invaluable assistance in promoting equal access to healthcare.
A group of Hope Through Health’s dedicated Community Health Workers