Global Health Workforce News of Interest

Here are five articles I found particularly interesting this week:

Effect of Peer Health Workers on AIDS Care in Rakai, Uganda
This article in the PloS ONE journal reports on the findings of “a cluster randomized trial to assess the effect of community-based peer health workers (PHW) on AIDS care of adults in Rakai, Uganda.” The authors conclude that “PHWs may be an effective intervention to sustain long-term ART in low-resource settings.”

Over 2,000 Health Workers Get Free Phones
The New Times (Rwanda) reports that community health workers in Karongi District “will get free mobile phones as part of government’s efforts to boost the health sector through the use of science and technology.” The phones “are part of an ongoing countrywide campaign to ensure efficient and timely submission of monthly medical reports to the Ministry of Health.”

Our Aid Will Hit the Spot
In The Guardian (UK), Prime Minister David Cameron discusses a new “£5m fund to help midwives and health workers share their skills with birth attendants, nurses and doctors in the world's poorest countries.”

2010 Countdown to 2015 Decade Report (2000-2010)
The Countdown to 2015 collaboration released a new publication reviewing progress over the past ten years, with analysis of data from the 68 countries that account for at least 95% of maternal and child deaths. Country profiles present coverage data for a range of key health services. The report includes a focus on skilled attendance at delivery.

Text Messages Save Pregnant Rwandan Women
This Reuters article describes how community health workers are using mobile phones to register and monitor pregnant women.

Links do not constitute the endorsement of CapacityPlus.

Photo: Carol Bales