Josephine, CHW, Zambia
Josephine the community health worker is closing the gap between people in her community in Ndola, Zambia and the health services they need. She particularly helps mothers through pregnancy and beyond.
Read the 2023 Impact Report
Josephine is a dedicated community health worker in the Chifubu area of Ndola in Zambia. She is instrumental in providing community health support in her local area.
Women are the drivers of health for all
Women are the drivers of universal health access, if they are able to receive care within their communities, and are empowered to make decisions about their own health in supportive environments. Community Health Workers (CHWs) are a critical part of empowering women with the health information, advice and services they need - as close as possible to home.
The Closing the Gap project in Zambia uses a community-led approach to increase maternal health access.
Community health workers like Josephine Katwamba are responsible for a group of households where they pay house visits to deliver health information and advice. This has a key role in the work to improve maternal health outcomes.
What is in my heart is the love I have for my community. I don’t want my people to suffer, the women and children especially.
A committed CHW
With support from Amref, Josephine was among 1,300 community health workers who underwent training through the Closing the Gap programme, providing information on Respectful Maternity Care and pre-natal care training. Zambia’s maternal mortality rate is 213 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births with only 63% live births being attended by skilled health personnel (UNFPA, 2018).
The programme aims to increase skilled birth attendance and eliminate preventable maternal deaths by increasing and expanding health promotional activities. These activities help to increase community awareness and understanding of health issues, and in turn to boost demand for quality healthcare services, and strengthen the connections between communities and formal health systems in two districts of Copper Belt Province, Zambia.
Josephine is a front-line worker who hears, sees and advocates for the needs of individuals and the community. Josephine's impact is profound. Her work going door to door in the community, building relationships with women – in particular – as well as their wider families, helps the community to access the health information and services they need. She does this in a culturally, and personally, sensitive manner, as she has an innate understanding of the contexts and circumstances of the people she serves because she is from the same community, and lives in the same area. This means that she can also focus on the most vulnerable in the community – to ensure that they have the unique support that they need to encourage them to access health services.
I am bringing the community and the clinic together and filling that gap.
Valuable support
Young mothers often feel isolated during pregnancy, and community health workers like Josephine provide essential psychosocial support, guiding them through what to expect and what to look out for during their pregnancy journey. Noting the critical role she plays in “closing the gap”, she says:
“I don’t want pregnant women and mothers to suffer because I am their eyes, and at the same time, I am the eyes of the clinic.”
During the Amref training, Josephine also learned to provide essential services such as screening and early detection of danger signs like high blood pressure which is a leading cause of birth related complications.
