For decades, community health workers (CHWs) like Mary Odhiambo have kept track of their clients using a paper register. “I used to bring my book from house to house, about 8 to 10 in one day,” Mary says. “I wrote down information about children’s immunization records and pregnant women’s antenatal care visits, but the books […]
For the past 15 years, Lwala has worked with communities to innovate, test, and adapt our community-led health model. Over time, we brought more communities into the fold, and our roots in Lwala Village grew to all of Rongo Subcounty, where we have been delivering health services to 125,000 people. In 2022, we expanded to […]
Community health workers (CHWs) are the caregivers of their communities. They reach every household in their village with essential health services, they make referrals to facilities, and they are a trusted source of information for their communities. Yet CHWs are often under-equipped and under-supported, and only 14% of CHWs in Africa are salaried. Lwala is […]
Safe water and sanitation are the most basic of human needs–and are essential to good health. Yet around the world, billions of people lack access to clean water, the ability to wash their hands, or a working toilet. In Kenya, nearly 10 million people drink from contaminated water sources, 5 million people do not have […]
When it comes to improving health care, Lwala believes that communities should be in the driver's seat. “Many health programs are driven by donors and technical experts who don’t fully understand the local context,” says Doreen Awino, Lwala’s Director of Health Systems Strengthening. But no one can identify challenges and solutions better than communities themselves. […]
Most Lwala staff would agree that the hospital cafeteria–an open-air meeting space furnished with several picnicstyle tables, adjacent to a small kitchen–is the heart of the hospital complex. This is the place where every employee finds themselves at least once a day to take a cup of chai (tea) and a warm mandazi (fried bread) […]
