2012 Burera District Community Health Campaign

Project Summary

FACE AIDS’ 2011 Burera District Community Health Campaign aims to strengthen and expand the access to health care that every individual deserves. By supporting community health workers, this project create a community-based model of rural health care that is effectively reaches the most needy and remote residents.

Community health workers are a vital link between health care facilities and households. They help make sure that critical health information and basic medical care and support reach the poorest of the poor in their homes, many of whom are unable to make the long and costly journey to the district hospital. Each community health worker makes home visits to serve 50 households per month, reaching more than 400 people in northern Rwanda, historically one of the most neglected districts of the country in terms of health care.

This project funds the salary, bi-monthly comprehensive medical trainings, and accompaniment for 6 community health workers for a year. Support this project, and help provide access to health services to those who need it the most.

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What?

All funds raised go to Partners In Health to provide training and salaries to community health workers in Burera District, Rwanda.
The annual costs of one community health worker are as follows:
• $144 provides one year of salary support to a community health worker
• $48 provides one year of bi-monthly comprehensive and standardized primary care trainings for a community health worker
• $24 provides accompaniment by a community health worker to one household (twice daily visits) for one year. Accompaniment includes daily Directly Observed Therapy for those on TB and/or HIV medication.

Community health workers provide a complete package of primary health care, services, and education during monthly home visits to each household in their area, including:
• Reproductive health, prenatal care, safe deliveries, and family planning
• Child health, including growth monitoring, vaccination, and nutrition / malnutrition follow-up
• Prevention of and integrated care for TB, malaria, and HIV
• Education for prevention of sexually transmitted infections
• Community mobilization on hygiene and sanitation.

In addition, community health workers play an integral role in district-wide public health campaigns, including regular vaccination campaigns and the annual maternal child health campaign.

Why?

Community health workers are a vital link between health care facilities and rural communities. Though Burera District, Rwanda, has an excellent hospital, the vast majority of people have difficulty getting there. Given the region’s vast and mountainous terrain, the walk to the hospital can take hours or even days. It is difficult — physically and financially — to make such a journey.

Community health workers help solve this bottleneck in care provision by bringing basic health care and health education to households, acting as a connection to health care services provided at the clinics and hospital. A community health worker visits about 50 households once per month to implement a complete package of primary health care and services. Topics addressed during visits include reproductive health; child health; prevention of and integrated care for TB, malaria, and HIV; vaccinations; and hygiene and sanitation.

How?

FACE AIDS’ Burera District Community Health Campaign benefits Partners In Health (PIH), an international non-profit organization providing health care in Rwanda. PIH provides the training and salaries to the community health workers in Burera District, Rwanda. PIH has worked in partnership with the Government of Rwanda to develop and establish a community-based model of rural health care since 2006, and began working in Burera District specifically in late 2007. Since then, the system of community health workers across all of Rwanda has grown to include a network of nearly 2,500 CHWs serving a population of nearly 330,000.

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Burera District is located in northern Rwanda on the border with Rwanda, and has approximately 300,000 residents. Until the Butaro Hospital opened in January 2011, Burera was the only district in the country without a functioning district hospital. It was one of the most neglected in terms of health care services. The community health workers are from Burera and will be serving their fellow community members.

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Community member details not available yet.

Direct Impact of Your Project

Community health workers provide a complete package of primary health care, services, and education during monthly home visits to each household in their area, including:
• Reproductive health, prenatal care, safe deliveries, and family planning
• Child health, including growth monitoring, vaccination, and nutrition / malnutrition follow-up
• Prevention of and integrated care for TB, malaria, and HIV
• Education for prevention of sexually transmitted infections
• Community mobilization on hygiene and sanitation.

In addition, community health workers play an integral role in district-wide public health campaigns, including regular vaccination campaigns and the annual maternal child health campaign.

Extended Impact on Your Partner Community

The community health workers themselves receive salaries for their full-time work promoting the health of their fellow community members and trainings to improve their knowledge and service provision. The members of the community have access to basic health care services and health education, enabling them to live longer, healthier lives.