Training and utilization of refugees as community health workers in protracted displacement situations : policy brief

Abstract

The goal is to inform an education model for building health care capacity in disadvantaged communities in Kenya. The Daadab refugee camps represent a protracted displacement situation in an extreme resource-limited setting with an acute shortage of community health workers (CHWs). Here, refugees trained as CHWs play an important role in extending primary health care services. Yet their training is limited and may not adequately prepare them to deal with challenges arising in this context. The research investigates CHWs’ current training, their scope of responsibilities, their challenges, and whether they would be interested in a university degree program in community health.