Features

World Health Worker Week 2015

During April 5-11, 2015, IntraHealth International, the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, and our other partners are celebrating World Health Worker Week

World Health Worker Week is an opportunity to mobilize communities, partners, and policy-makers in support of health workers around the world. It's a time to celebrate the amazing work health workers do and raise awareness of the challenges they face every day. And, perhaps most importantly, it's an opportunity to fill the gaps in the health workforce by calling on those in power to ensure that health workers have the training, supplies, and support they need to do their jobs safely and effectively. 

Frontline health workers are the backbone of effective health systems. They are the first and often the only link to health care for millions of people. Frontline health workers provide immunizations and treat common infections, they battle deadly diseases such as Ebola and HIV, and they act as trusted sources of information for communities everywhere. 

At IntraHealth, we believe health workers count. Do you? Join the conversation. #WHWWeek #HealthWorkersCount

And see what global leaders have to say about why health workers count NOW.


VITAL COMMENTARY AND MORE: WHY HEALTH WORKERS COUNT

   
Beyond Belief: Health Care as a Weapon
Barbara Stilwell, Senior Director of Health Workforce Solutions, IntraHealth International
There were 1,809 incidents of violence against health workers, clients, ambulances, and medical facilities in 2012 and 2013. Why? And how can we put a stop to them? » Read more
   
289,000 Reasons Why Health Workers Count for Mothers
Pape Gaye, President and CEO, IntraHealth International
Sometimes in the global health community, we get distracted by academic arguments about whether it's more effective to put money toward individual health issues—such as maternal deaths—or toward stronger health care delivery systems, the results of which are farther-reaching but harder to quantify. Really, we should do both. » Read more
   
Botswana Is Building a Strong Health System by Focusing on Health Workers
Alex Collins, Program Officer, and Sarah Dwyer,Communications Manager, IntraHealth International
In Botswana, the Ministry of Health is using the power of data to inform its policies, planning, and human resources. » Read more
   
Why We Don't Call Them "Our" Health Workers
Corinne Mahoney, Senior Manager, IntraHealth International
As professionals, health workers belong to the people they serve. Join us during World Health Worker Week in thanking those who bring health care to communities around the world, including your own. » Read more
   
Why Health Workers Are TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year
The Editorial Team, IntraHealth International
For over a year, they’ve been on the front lines of a terrifying epidemic. Hundreds from their ranks have died. But many still show up for work every day, at great personal risk, to fight an Ebola epidemic that has decimated West African communities and ravaged their national health systems. » Read more
   
10 Health Workers Who Inspired Us in 2014
Margarite Nathe, Senior Editor/Writer, IntraHealth International
At IntraHealth, we meet amazing health workers who work hard every day to keep their communities healthy—and many put their lives on the line to do it. So we took a few moments to honor ten health workers who have inspired us, and to say thank you. » Read more
   
She’ll Tackle Ghana's Maternal Health Challenges, Client by Client
Carol Bales, Communications Officer, IntraHealth International
Ghana is one of the worst places in the world to be a mother—1 in 68 women there die in childbirth. But when this smiling student and her colleagues become practicing midwives, together they’ll provide care to 7,000 more women every week, saving the lives of women and children throughout the country. » Read more
   
An HIV Peer Counselor in the Dominican Republic: "I Can Improve Things"
Alex Collins, Program Officer, and Ángela Diaz Fermin, PMTCT Advisor/Technical Manager, IntraHealth International
After she received discriminatory care at a local maternity hospital, one young mother living with HIV found her calling.  » Read more
   
Meanwhile, in the VMMC Tent
Margarite Nathe, Senior Editor/Writer, IntraHealth International
Nurse Joyce Samson Kiribiti is usually hard at work in the Shinyanga Regional Hospital. But she takes a few weeks away from her busy intensive care unit to help out at IntraHealth’s HIV outreach clinic, providing 10 voluntary medical male circumcisions per day. The simple 15-minute procedure can reduce a man’s HIV risk by 60%. » Read more
   
Dr. Arturo Carrillo: “I’m a Health Worker”
Carol Bales, Communications Officer, et. al., IntraHealth International
Meet Dr. Arturo Carrillo, an HIV expert in El Salvador. He fights to end discrimination and stigma against clients with HIV and to ensure that key populations are not denied services. » Read more


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