When we are sick, when our families need care, when we need answers to frightening questions, there is no substitute for the comfort and care another human being can provide—especially when that human being is a skilled health worker.
This year, TIME magazine named health workers—specifically Ebola fighters—person of the year. They could not have made a better choice. As I said when testifying to Congress about the US’s role in the Ebola response, this tragic epidemic has shown us what happens when health systems fail, and when the health workers at the center of those systems are too few, insufficiently trained, and working with inadequate support.
We know now more than ever that we must invest in strengthening our global health systems if we are to protect ourselves and the generations that come after us. And that means investing in and protecting the people who power those health systems. IntraHealth is doing just that.
“This year we reached 50% more health workers than the year before. This makes us very proud, and very determined to do more.”
This year we partnered with the government of Liberia to institute mHero, a free mobile phone-based system that connects health workers to health officials, to each other, and to critical information that can save lives—including their own. This connectivity will be crucial as the country recovers from the Ebola epidemic. But mHero is more than a bandage—it’s a low-cost, long-term solution that combines existing technologies and brings together the right people in real time to address all kinds of health challenges.
We’re having similar success in India, where our mSakhi mobile app is a game-changer for maternal and newborn care. The app not only connects health workers, it improves community health services through its unique multimedia guides and step-by-step reminders.
In Senegal, we’re proud to contribute to the country’s rapid progress in bringing more women than ever access to the family planning methods they want. Together, we’re improving the quality of health services, reducing contraceptive stockouts, and bolstering the health workforce countrywide.
Across Central America, the quality of health care is improving, especially for people living with HIV, thanks to our work with partners in the region. Our approaches are helping health workers perform better on the job, and it shows in the services they provide.
And in Mali, we’re training health workers to provide holistic care for obstetric fistula, a devastating childbirth injury that debilitates up to 2,400 Malian women every year.
Health workers are the very heart of our health systems. They make health care happen. And while technology and tools can help them along the way, nothing can take their place. That’s why we work every day at IntraHealth to make sure health workers count.
Pape A. Gaye, President and CEO of IntraHealth
@pgaye
