Following the successful conclusion on the Gender Webinar and the Research Webinar, the CHW Symposium webinar series now turns to its next critical theme: Sustainable Financing and Community Health. This session is a strategic convening of global and regional stakeholders – donors, governments, community voices, and technical experts – to surface insights, share emerging models, and collectively reimagine how global support for CHWs can shift from fragmented aid to long-term, catalytic investment in PHC systems.

The Role of Global Health Actors in Supporting Sustainable CHW Financing

Thursday 18 September 2025 – 08:00 UTC / 11:00 EAT / 15:00 ICT

Speakers:

• Dr. Elizabeth Magdaline Musa is a public health professional with extensive experience in community health systems and Primary Health Care. She currently serves as the National Coordinator for the Community Health Worker Program under the Directorate of Primary Health Care at the Ministry of Health, Sierra Leone. In this role, she provides strategic
  leadership, overseeing program design, coordination, training, advocacy, and supervision to strengthen community-based health service delivery.
• Dr. Grace Achungura is a Health Economist and medical doctor with 19 years of experience in the health sector across Africa, India, and Australia. She currently leads the WHO Country Office of India’s support for health system strengthening for UHC. Her work spans various domains including universal health coverage (UHC), health financing, health systems policy and planning, priority setting, resource allocation, and monitoring and evaluation of healthcare programs. She also brings clinical experience from her time as a medical practitioner in Uganda. Dr. Achungura has led and contributed to policy support initiatives focused on planning, implementation, and monitoring of health reforms, with a strong emphasis on sustainable health financing. Her leadership in high-level advocacy and strategic partnerships has fostered impactful collaborations and investments in health, benefiting both national and international stakeholders.
• Andrea Speranza, graduated in Political Science in 2000. Andrea began his career as a humanitarian worker, working with several NGOs in Kosovo, DRC, Albania, Gabon, Yemen, Rwanda, Senegal, Kenya, and Guinea-Bissau until 2018 in roles such as project management, country finance manager, and country director. He served as a World Bank health consultant from 2018 to 2023, providing technical support to the health sector Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in Guinea-Bissau. He served as a consultant to the European Union Delegation in Guinea-Bissau in the framework of a maternal and child health program from 2023 to August 2024. He has been employed by UNDP Guinea-Bissau since September 2024 as a health systems strengthening and community health specialist and is a father of two girls and a boy. 
• Yann Tapsoba is a health economist, working as Health Financing Specialist for Financing Alliance (FAH) for Health and also servs as an expert in health workforce issues and public financial management (PFM). Through African Frontline First Initiative (AFF), he supports countries in strengthening community health systems, developing evidence-based strategies for sustainable financing and better coordination of CHWs programs.
• Resi Budiana is a dedicated women’s advocate from Senaru Village, North Lombok, has served as a Community Health Worker since 2011. In 2022, the Ministry of Health named her one of Indonesia’s top CHWs for championing health workers’ rights. Beyond her work at the posyandu, Resi promotes women’s involvement in village planning and teaches practical skills like home gardening to boost nutrition and income. Her efforts have empowered women to play a more active role in their households and communities. Resi’s grassroots advocacy continues through media and village forums, where she pushes for health equity and women’s empowerment.
  
  

Meet Our Moderator: 

Maya Hayakawa, is a communications strategist and multi-talented media professional with 13+ years’ experience in journalism, branding, and strategic communications. She currently serves as Communications & Brand Specialist at Financing Alliance addressing systemic financing challenges in scaling primary and community health programs across sub-Saharan Africa.

 Siyapah Surathumrong, Sr. CHW Symposium Manager of Community Partners International will give a welcome remark at the beginning of the session. 

Background

Community Health Workers (CHWs) have long been the foundation of effective, people-centered primary health care (PHC), delivering essential services where health systems are weakest. From maternal and child health to pandemic response and disease surveillance, their contribution is indispensable. Yet, despite global consensus on their value, CHW programs remain among the most underfunded elements of the health system.

While global health actors and institutions have made strong commitments (through declarations, resolutions, and funding pledges) the financing architecture for CHWs remains fragmented, short-term, and often misaligned with country priorities. Many programs still rely on siloed, vertical streams that undermine long-term sustainability and integration into PHC. This moment demands a deeper, collective reflection:

• How are global actors showing up for CHWs in practice? 
• What does leadership look like in financing community health sustainably? 
• What kind of financing architecture is needed to enable resilient, country-owned CHW systems as part of broader PHC reforms?

The registration of this webinar is now closed.

Resources and Materials

• CHW Financing Webinar_Slide deck
• 1000 Days Fund trains and equips community health workers like our speaker, Resi Budiana, with the skills and confidence they need to prevent stunting in their villages. The multiplier is that we leave behind functioning village level health systems with the potential to scale.

Further information

This webinar is especially co-organized by Financing Alliance for Health. This is part of a global series hosted by Community Partners International, in collaboration with ReBUILD for Resilience, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, and Community Health Impact Coalition, in the lead-up to the 4th International Community Health Workers Symposium, which will take place virtually on 10-14 November 2025. Please visit their websites to learn more about their works and contributions on CHWs and Global Health.