By Allison Kozicharow; Edited by Elizabeth Fine
WiRED International is pleased to announce the launch of the fourth and final basic training class in 2026 of community health workers (CHWs) employed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in western Kenya. The program emphasizes the important role trained CHWs play in strengthening community healthcare and improving health services throughout the region.
This class, like the previous three, is being taught by WiRED’s experienced team of clinicians and nurses from the Pandipieri Health Clinic in Kisumu. In addition, our management team will monitor training procedures and examination protocols throughout the course. All training material and examinations are delivered on WiRED’s HealthMAP app for Android phones.
Twenty MOH CHWs already serving in the field are taking the course in a local church in Lela, a small town on the western edge of Kisumu. Using WiRED’s Basic CHW Training curriculum, participants will complete approximately 210 hours of intensive classroom instruction, reinforced by extensive independent study to support and expand the CHWs’ knowledge.
The current basic curriculum is augmented with new modules on One Health, Child Malnutrition and Ebola, topics that have become increasingly relevant to Kenyan community health concerns in recent years.
Recognizing the need to elevate the skills and capacities of CHWs to fill gaps in the healthcare continuum, WiRED developed an extensive World Health Organization-compliant curriculum providing CHWs with a sweeping background in foundational health plus the opportunity for further trainings:
- Basic Training with four instructional blocks: Core Health, Clinical Issues, First Aid and Critical Care and Communication;
Advanced Training in five areas: Maternal, Reproductive and Child Health; Chronic Disease and Mental Health; Public Health, Emergencies and Resilience; Foundations of Community Health and CHW Leadership; and Professional Development;- Specialty Training in 10 key health topics; and
- Continuing Medical Education (CME) offering hundreds of modules relevant to frontline practice that elevates CHW skills and competencies after formal training has been completed (this CME program is open without cost to all CHWs globally, whether trained by WiRED or other organizations).
The four WiRED trainings held throughout the year of nearly 100 CHWs in total reflect the MOH’s strong commitment to supporting CHW initiatives that build a more capable health workforce and strengthen the healthcare system. Through WiRED’s rigorous Basic CHW Training curriculum, participants gain the knowledge, practical skills and confidence needed to provide higher-quality community-based healthcare and serve as effective links between their communities and the formal health system.
