FEATURED PUBLICATION
The Lancet, 2024
ONE TERM TO TRANSFORM: UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE THROUGH PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS
Global health worker shortages demand action. Professional CHWs (proCHWs) offer a transformative, cost-effective solution to achieve universal healthcare. Skilled, salaried, and well-supported, proCHWs save lives, boost economies, and ensure access, even during crises. National proCHW programs are feasible with resources and political will, empowering ministers to rapidly strengthen health systems.
The International Journal of Health Planning and Management, 2025
PROFESSIONALISATION OF COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS: TIME FOR A FORMAT CONTRACT
Community health workers (CHWs) are vital to effective primary healthcare, yet often lack adequate support. While skilled, supplied, supervised, and salaried CHW programs ("proCHW") enhance healthcare access, this study proposes adding 'security' – formal contracts – to that framework. Currently, many CHWs volunteer without contracts, risking arbitrary replacement. Formal contracts offer legal safeguards, ensuring fair employment with minimum wage and career paths. Securing CHW contracts requires political will, public-private partnerships, and tailored funding strategies aligned with local administration. Sustainable funding maximizes CHW program impact, strengthening primary care worldwide.
Public Health Challenges, 2023
TOWARDS STUNTING ERADICATION IN INDONESIA: TIME TO INVEST IN COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS
In Indonesia, where the under-five population ranks fourth globally, stunting rates are among the highest in Asia. To combat this, the government aims to eradicate stunting by 2030, with community health workers (CHWs) leading the effort. Despite over 1.5 million CHWs providing essential growth monitoring and counseling, challenges persist, including unclear recruitment and incentives. Addressing these issues through improved recruitment, recognition, and collaboration is vital for achieving stunting eradication.
BETA & Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), 2020
APPLYING BEHAVIOURAL INSIGHTS TO A CASH TRANSFER PROGRAM
BETA collaborated with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to find ways of bolstering the impact of an existing cash transfer program in Indonesia. Based on our research, we designed two products to address maternal anaemia and stunting: a children’s growth chart, and a calendar card for pregnant women taking iron tablets. This report forms part of broader work underway by DFAT to test some of these ideas in the field in partnership with the Abdul-Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (JPAL).