Save Lives in the World's Most Remote Villages

Driven by the vision, “A health worker for everyone, everywhere, every day,” Last Mile Health remains committed to expanding community health services in Liberia via a professional Community Health Worker (CHW) model. CHWs are trained, equipped and supported to provide lifesaving treatment to those living at Liberia’s ‘last mile’ – or those living beyond a 5 kilometer distance from a health facility. To date, Last Mile Health has deployed 283 CHWs in Rivercess and Grand Gedeh Counties, improving access to essential, quality healthcare for over 33,000 people across 300 remote communities.

In 2012, one of the first CHWs recruited by Last Mile Health was a woman by the name of Teta, who had experienced first-hand during her pregnancy the challenges of living at the last mile. When she went into labor, Teta had to travel 50 kilometers by motorbike over extremely rough terrain to reach Konobo Health Center, with her baby’s foot and ankle already delivered. Fortunately, Teta arrived at the facility in time to safely give birth to a healthy baby, and today the experience continues to inspire her. Teta now provides lifesaving health services to women and children in her remote community along Liberia’s border with the Ivory Coast.

Following rigorous training in Community Engagement & Surveillance, Child Health, and Maternal, Neonatal & Reproductive Health, with ongoing mentoring and supervision by Last Mile Health’s team of CHW Leaders, Clinical Mentors and Training Officers, Teta continues to grow into her role, developing the skills and confidence needed to successfully delivery primary healthcare services in her community. Thanks to this support, Teta and her colleagues across Rivercess and Grand Gedeh were able to treat more than 6,800 children under five for malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia in the last quarter alone.

Working in close collaboration with the government’s County Health Teams, as well as the Ministry of Health at a central level, LMH is afforded the unique opportunity to demonstrate the strength of this model. Over the past three months, work has continued with the Ministry’s Community Health Services Division to advance momentum for national scale-up of the CHW Program. This seven-year Program will expand the provision of primary health care to 1.2 million Liberian’s currently living more than 5 kilometers from the nearest health facility. Women and children currently without access to healthcare will benefit from the knowledge and dedication of inspiring people like Teta.

Links:

• Last Mile Health Website

A Community Health Worker for ALL - Samuel Gbo-weh, Rivercess County

Over the last three months, Last Mile Health has driven forward the expansion of a Community Health Worker (CHW) program in remote Rivercess County, Liberia. Working in partnership since late 2014 in the midst of the Ebola crisis, Last Mile Health and the Liberia Ministry of Health’s Rivercess County Health Team (CHT) ensured that last mile communities were trained and equipped to protect themselves from the epidemic. Now, LMH and the Rivercess CHT are expanding access to lifesaving primary health services to even the most remote areas of the county by ensuring that all communities are served by a CHW.

As of January 2016, LMH has recruited over 200 CHWs and 30 CHW supervisors in two cohorts, achieving full coverage of every remote village in Rivercess County. By this time next year, both cohorts of CHWs and supervisors will have completed each of Last Mile Health’s four training modules: Community Engagement & Surveillance; Child Health; Reproductive, Maternal & Neonatal Health; and Adult Health.

The brief profile below introduces Samuel Gbo-weh, a CHW from Cohort One in Rivercess who recently completed Last Mile Health’s second training module in Child Health. Samuel is now fully trained and equipped to provide life-saving treatment for malaria, diarrhea, malnutrition, and acute respiratory infection to children under five in his community.

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In Jaye Town 1, a remote community in Rivercess County, Liberia, common diseases like malaria, diarrhea, and acute respiratory infections are often debilitating and life-threatening, especially for children under five. The nearest clinic is over an hour’s walk away, and few people in Jaye Town 1 can afford to pay for a motorbike taxi that would make the journey more bearable.

In the words of a Last Mile Health Community Clinical Supervisor, “People not served by the centralized health system are dying cheap deaths, of common things.”

In Jaye Town 1, CHW Samuel Gbo-weh completed Last Mile Health’s training module on Child Health in December 2015 and is now providing care in his community for young children with malaria, diarrhea, acute respiratory infection, and signs of malnutrition. Samuel’s supervisor, Albert Johnson, makes weekly visits to Jaye Town 1, during which time he assists Samuel with work planning, devising strategy for overcoming challenges, developing his caregiving skills.

Samuel’s dedication to the job and passion for serving in his community had an immediate impact close to home. In early January, just weeks after completing his training in Child Health, Samuel was able to successfully treat his nephew for malaria.

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Thank you for supporting Last Mile Health to train, equip, supervise, and pay Community Health Workers like Samuel. The care he and his fellow CHWs provide to their neighbors in underserved communities is helping to achieve justice in health for remote Liberians.

Links:

• Last Mile Health Website