Health extension workers' verification starts
Jan 13, 2025
The exercise, which started on January 11, 2025, covers the districts of Butaleja, Luwero, Lwengo, Nakasongola, Kwania and Kween.

(Courtesy photo)

Ivan Tsebeni
Journalist @New Vision
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The health ministry has started the verification of community health extension workers (CHEWs) in six districts across the country.
The exercise, which started on January 11, 2025, covers the districts of Butaleja, Luwero, Lwengo, Nakasongola, Kwania and Kween.
Ministry spokesperson, Emmanuel Ainebyoona, says it is targeting to verify about 300 extension workers from the above districts, which are prioritised and supported by the World Bank through the Uganda COVID Response and Emergency Preparedness Project (UCREPP).
The extension workers are institutionalized, paid a monthly allowance and work closely with the existing Village Health Teams (VHTs) who are community volunteers, according to health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng.
Unlike the VHTs who are deployed in groups of four per village, only two CHEWs will be deployed per parish meaning that they require regular supervision from health practitioners.
(Courtesy photo)

(Courtesy photo)
Speaking at the pass out of the CHEWs after completing their six-month training in 2022, Aceng said since most diseases are preventable, the CHEWs would be responsible for identifying health challenges within the community and reporting them on time so that the surveillance team can find out what the problem is.
During the passout, the minister called upon the teams to build a good relationship among themselves, the community and VHTs for easy access and implementation of their work.
She revealed that they would not abandon the VHTs.
“They will remain there so you have to create a rapport with VHTs because you may not be able to walk to all the villages in your parish,” she said.
In 2018, the world commemorated 40 years of the Alma Ata Declaration on primary health care (PHC), which emphasized the importance of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in ensuring its vision of health for all.
In line with the declaration, Uganda launched a CHEW programme to address the high disease burden and a critical shortage of health professionals and also improve equitable access to health services.