DR. ADIRIEJE SEEKS URGENT INVESTMENT IN COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS
By Our Correspondent, Abuja
The Chief Executive Officer of the Afrihealth Optonet Association (AHOA), Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje, has called for urgent and sustained investment in community health workers, describing them as the backbone of health systems in developing countries.
Royal Paradise Media (News Online) learnt this recently from Dr. Adirieje while delivering the keynote address at the fourth edition of AHOA’s 2026 “Life & Health” Dialogue Series in Abuja, themed “Community Health Workforce, Leadership and Retention in Developing Countries.”
He noted that community health workers often serve as the first—and in many cases the only—point of contact for millions of people, particularly in underserved and rural communities, where they provide essential services ranging from maternal and child health to disease control and emergency response.
Despite their critical role, he lamented that community health workers remain largely undervalued, underpaid, and overburdened.
“Across developing countries, we continue to rely heavily on community health workers, yet we fail to invest adequately in their welfare, training, and professional development,” he said.
The AHOA chief emphasised that strengthening health systems goes beyond increasing workforce numbers, stressing the need to build leadership capacity at the community level.
According to him, empowering community health workers as leaders—rather than mere implementers—can significantly improve health outcomes, enhance accountability, and promote community ownership of health interventions.
Dr. Adirieje also raised concerns over high attrition rates within the community health workforce, attributing the trend to poor remuneration, limited career progression, weak supervision, unsafe working conditions, and inadequate policy support.
“Retention is not optional; it is essential. When countries lose trained health workers, they also lose investments, service quality declines, and preventable illnesses and deaths increase,” he warned.
He called on governments and stakeholders to develop sustainable financing models, integrate community health workers into national workforce strategies, and strengthen systems for supportive supervision and continuous learning.
The AHOA CEO further advocated the use of digital innovations to enhance performance while ensuring that such tools do not increase the burden on frontline workers.
He stressed that effective community health systems depend on strong policy alignment, political commitment, civil society engagement, and active community participation.
Dr. Adirieje reaffirmed AHOA’s commitment to using its Dialogue Series as a platform for evidence-based discussions and policy engagement aimed at improving health outcomes and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.
“The future of health in developing countries will depend largely on how we value, lead, and retain those who serve closest to the people,” he added.
The weekly “Life & Health” Dialogue Series continues to convene stakeholders across Africa and beyond to address pressing health and development challenges.