A Zambian government initiative launched in 2010 when the Ministry of Health developed a National Community Health Assistant strategy, creating a new cadre of community health assistants, or CHAs, to be integrated formally into the national health system. Implementation began with a pilot phase in June 2011 that trained 307 CHAs by 2013, with the first fully trained assistants deployed in late 2012 after a full year of formalized pre-service training covering disease prevention, health promotion and basic curative care. The program was developed to address Zambia's shortage of health workers and the wider challenges facing its community-based health workforce, and it is intended to bring primary health care as close to people's homes as possible.
Facts
Program StatusActive nationwide cadre as of this 2021 profile, described as firmly established in supporting Zambian primary health care. 1 Sponsoring BodyZambia's Ministry of Health (MOH), through its National Community Health Worker Strategy. 1 Target PopulationRural, remote and hard-to-reach Zambian communities; each Community Health Assistant serves a catchment area of 1,750 residents. 1 Health GoalTo bring primary health care as close to the family as possible, and contribute to the improved management of malaria, maternal and child health and common preventable health conditions. 1 Geographic ScopeZambia, nationwide; the Ministry of Health has deployed Community Health Assistants in 105 of Zambia's 110 districts. 1 Measured ResultsThe Ministry of Health has trained 2,502 Community Health Assistants in total and deployed 1,337 of them across 105 of Zambia's 110 districts, plus a further 932 deployed with support from cooperating partners, for 2,269 CHAs deployed altogether as of this source. 1 Classification
Program KindHealth Education Program 1 Connections
Delivers Practice
Entity-backed identity for the program-kind enum value this public health program already carries, resolved to a health practice by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The program-kind fact itself stays on the program unchanged.
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Africa, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Sistan, found in there.
Sources
1. CHW Central: Zambia's Community Health Assistant Program
Nikhil Wilmink, Emily Measures, Hilda Shakwelele, Katharine Shelley and Yekoyesew Worku, CHW Central (Initiatives Inc.), 2021Background section
In Zambia, a public sector cadre of salaried Community Health Assistants (CHAs) was created in 2010 through the Ministry of Health (MOH) National Community Health Worker Strategy.
Implementation section
since then the MOH has trained a total of 2,502 CHAs and deployed 1,337 CHAs in 105 of Zambia’s 110 districts.
Overview
Zambian Community Health Assistants each provide health promotion and disease prevention to a catchment area of 1,750 residents.
Overview (summary)
Evidence consistently demonstrates the effectiveness and essential nature of these assistants in supporting Zambian primary health care.
Background section, cadre aims sentence
This cadre aims to bring primary health care (PHC) as close to the family as possible, and contribute to the improved management of malaria, maternal and child health and common preventable health conditions.
Implementation section, cumulative deployment totals sentence
since then the MOH has trained a total of 2,502 CHAs and deployed 1,337 CHAs in 105 of Zambia’s 110 districts.88 An additional 932 CHAs have been deployed with support from cooperating partners, bringing the total number of CHAs deployed to 2,269.
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