These are the community health workers who are the heartbeat of global primary health care

As we’ve learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, resilient community health systems are able to effectively respond to outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics, while continuing to provide essential services, including routine immunization.  

Every community has a right to quality primary health care. Building the systems required to deliver quality care is paramount, and dependent upon community health workers who are the heartbeat of health care.  

Success in this field will require immunization and health-care initiatives driven by local knowledge and expertise. Most importantly, it will demand a workforce – led by community health workers – who are paid, professional and prepared to reach children in hard-to-reach communities.  

To vaccinate every child and provide them with the health services they need to grow up healthy and thrive, it is vital that we strengthen primary health care and provide its mostly female frontline workers with the resources and support they need and deserve to do their job to the fullest of their abilities.