The Government has started absorbing village health workers into the Ministry of Health and Child Care payroll in a move aimed at reducing reliance on donor funding and strengthening community-based healthcare services.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora said Treasury had already approved posts for the workers, paving the way for their transition to the government payroll.
The development comes as monthly allowances for village health workers have increased from US$14 to US$35 with the Government planning further increases to US$80 before eventually reaching US$100 by 2030.
“We have agreed that all of them will be taken on board by the Ministry of Health, and we have already had posts offered by Treasury and we have started taking them on board,” Dr. Mombeshora said.
He said the Government was committed to improving their remuneration in recognition of their contribution to the country’s primary healthcare system.
“We still think that we should work it upwards to US$80 and by 2030 to US$100,” he said.
Village health workers play a critical role in linking rural communities with formal healthcare facilities, particularly in remote areas where access to clinics and hospitals remains a challenge.
Their responsibilities include identifying people with minor illnesses, encouraging them to seek medical attention and monitoring pregnant women to ensure they register for antenatal care and access appropriate delivery services.
They also help identify and follow up people living with chronic conditions, contributing to early detection and disease prevention at community level.
Mombeshora said although village health workers were not permanently employed, their role remained central to the implementation of the country’s primary healthcare programme.
“They work at the village level, but they are very important carriers in terms of implementing our primary healthcare,” he said.
The minister said placing the workers on the government payroll would ensure their remuneration was no longer dependent on external funding, providing greater financial certainty for the community-based health workforce.
“The health workers are now going to be on government payroll. We are not going to have any health worker on payroll from our donors,” he said.
He added that development partners willing to support the health sector would be expected to channel their financial assistance through the Ministry of Health and Child Care rather than directly employing health personnel.
“If donors want to bring money to assist, then they bring the money to the Ministry of Health, but not going directly to any health employee,” Mombeshora said.
The transition marks a shift in the financing of community-level healthcare, with the Government seeking to assume greater responsibility for supporting workers who provide frontline services in rural communities.
The planned increase in allowances is also expected to improve the welfare of village health workers, whose responsibilities include disease surveillance, maternal health support, health education and the early identification of illnesses.
