Program Highlights
The 4th International Community Health Workers (CHW) Symposium features an exciting program bringing together policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and community health workers from around the globe. Over three days, participants will exchange insights, share new evidence, discover innovative strategies and approaches, and connect with one another to shape the future of community health.
Plenary Sessions
The State of Play: Supporting CHWs in a World of Growing Crises and Diminishing Foreign Aid
November 12th, 2025 | 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM (ICT)*
In 2025, global health funding has undergone dramatic shifts, with direct impacts on the most vulnerable communities and health workers. Our opening plenary acknowledges these challenges while framing them as questions of opportunity: What new possibilities have emerged? What resilience has been demonstrated? How can we do better moving forward?
*This live session will be re-broadcast for participants in other timezones on November 12th, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM (EST).
Healers in Hostile Settings: The Power of Community Health Workers in Conflict Settings
November 12th, 2025 | 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM (EST)
Conflicts are intensifying and spreading, fracturing communities across the world. As systems are weakened by the impact of conflict, the role of CHWs often becomes even more critical. This session will examine how conflict transforms community health work, explore what CHWs can do in these challenging contexts and highlight the additional or specialized support that they need to continue delivering essential care in conflict-affected communities.
*This live session will be re-broadcast for participants in other timezones on November 13th, 2025, from 10:30 PM to 12:00 PM (ICT).
Alliance Building: Making Systems Change for CHWs a Reality
November 13th, 2025 | 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM (EST)*
To transform systems, community health workers and advocates must build power collectively. Alliances at national, regional and global levels have effectively demonstrated that together, CHWs can demand the dignity they deserve enabling the effective delivery of health services to their communities. This plenary will highlight the successes, challenges and on-going needs in power-building efforts led by community health associations.
*This live session will be re-broadcast for participants in other timezones on November 14th, 2025, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM (ICT).
From Insights to Action: Changing the Future with CHWs
November 14th, 2025 | 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM (EST)
In the culmination of three days of dialogue, learning and shared experiences, we’ll reflect on the key themes that emerged across the 4th International CHW Symposium. Join us in the closing plenary to engage in a collective call to action, exploring how we can turn insights into a shared path forward. This session invites reflection on the moment we face and inspire ideas for moving forward together to strengthen health systems with community health workers.
Virtual Site Visits
Community Health: Lessons from the Rohingya Camps in Cox’s Bazar
November 13th, 2025 | 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM (ICT)*
This session offers an immersive look into one of the world’s largest refugee settlements, where Community Health Workers are the backbone of essential health services. Through live discussions and field footage, participants will explore how CHWs, Govt, and leading Partners sustain care amid crisis, the challenges they face, and the lessons their resilience and innovation offer for humanitarian and health systems globally.
*This live session will be re-broadcast for participants in other timezones on November 13th, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM (EST).
Community Health Workers on the Frontlines of Health Service Delivery on the Thailand-Myanmar Border
November 14th, 2025 | 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM (ICT)*
Join this virtual site visit to explore how community health workers are keeping primary health care alive amid conflict, displacement, and political upheaval in Myanmar and along the Thailand border. Hear from ethnic health organizations, practitioners, civil society and community health workers on the frontline of innovations, cross-border support, and strategies that empower CHWs to deliver lifesaving care to marginalized and displaced communities impacted by conflict.
*This live session will be re-broadcast for participants in other timezones on November 14th, 2025, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM (EST).
Program Agenda
View the Symposium Program
Symposium Abstracts
