By David Bryden, Tapiwa Mukwashi, Laura Solia Shellaby
This time last year, on the heels of World Health Worker Week, support for the global health workforce had never been stronger. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, applause broke out at shift changes, volunteers sewed masks in response to personal protective equipment shortages, and communities organized meal deliveries to hospitals in honor and recognition of the immeasurable sacrifices front-line health workers were making to combat the disease.
In Africa and Central and South America, lockdowns began, and health systems braced for the spread of the coronavirus. China had lifted its initial lockdown, while many other Asian countries prepared for the worst. And the World Health Organization had written and revised a COVID-19 Strategy Preparedness and Response Plan.
Now, a year later, our collective mindset has made important, productive shifts as we recognize applause and bold declarations are not enough; they must be backed by action. We’ve gone from referencing “when we go back to normal” to acknowledging that we can’t and shouldn’t revert to the status quo. The refrain “we need to build back better” has become shorthand for a deeper understanding that our health systems are imperfect. They especially fail the most underserved among us, and they desperately need improvements.
Read the rest of the article on the Devex Website.
About the authors
David Bryden is the director of Frontline Healthcare Workers Coalition, an alliance of United States-based organizations working together to urge greater and more strategic investments in frontline health workers in low- and middle-income countries.
Tapiwa Mukwashi is the supply chain director at VillageReach. With 15 years of private sector and international development experience across sub-Saharan Africa, Mukwashi plays a central role in guiding the organization’s programs in strengthening, cost benchmarking, and integrating supply chains that provide health products to community health workers.
Laura Solia Shellaby is the interim deputy director of the Community Health Impact Coalition and an independent consultant supporting international organizations, companies, foundations, and NGOs to achieve their social impact goals. With more than a decade of experience working in the field of global health focused on issues including community health systems, noncommunicable diseases, and health financing, Shellaby specializes in managing multi-sectoral partnerships for collective impact, action-oriented group facilitation, and NGO strategy.