Reverse innovation: lessons learned from community health worker programs in Low-and-Middle income countries

COVID-19 pandemic hit the most deprived the hardest. It has made the underlying inequalities in access to primary healthcare (PHC) even more pronounced. However, access to PHC is key in the fight against COVID-19, as it results in less complex health problems and less pressure on the health system which is currently overburdened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important to support vulnerable groups in successfully accessing PHC. Innovative ways to tailor first PHC services to vulnerable groups are needed to address the adverse societal and health-related consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the most vulnerable groups in Belgium. In this lecture, we will take a closer look at the potential of community health workers to address these challenges. Furthermore, the documentary ‘Disease with no name’ will be screened, which shows four community health workers in their work of providing HIV support in the townships of Cape Town, South Africa.

The proposed lecture shows the experience executed in the south of Ecuador, and the effort to achieve a strong social involvement as a key of successfully results.