9. Case study: Women’s involvement in Malawi

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Headshot of Joanna Breems, Clinical Assistant Professor
Joanna Breems
Clinical Assistant Professor
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Community health workers (CHWs) for a health program in Malawi are mostly men.
This is typical in Malawi because job descriptions for CHW positions require a high school diploma even when they are not necessary to be successful in the position. 
Few women in Malawi attend high school, often due to inequitable gender norms.
A mix of providers, including more Malawian women with similar social status to the program clientele, could increase program effectiveness.

Including more women candidates could be accomplished by:

  • Lowering the education requirement
  • Selecting workers on more relevant attributes (respect in the community and ability to counsel)
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A note

These materials were adapted from the Global Health eLearning Center, U.S. Agency for International Development.

Image credits

Unless otherwise noted, images are from Adobe Stock.

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