FPD, in collaboration with I-TECH funded through the CDC, will train an estimated 7000 Community Health Workers (CHWs) and 700 Outreach Team Leaders (OTLs) in two provinces namely Eastern Cape and Free State in several priority districts. In this skills development initiative to ensure that CHWs are trained and able to manage common conditions while surveying households, relevant and accessible knowledge and skills is a core requirement. The curriculum will cover the primary health care package, i.e. the basics of HIV and HIV prevention and treatment, Prevention of Mother-to-Child transmission (PMTCT), tuberculosis, adherence to treatment, antenatal care, pregnancy, the essence of child health, hypertension and diabetes.
The teaching approach is a cascade approach. Master Trainers from the Department of Health, will be trained and supported by project funded FPD Master Trainers and mentors during the lifespan of the project. This initiative will provide much needed support to the Department of Health in the various districts to ensure successful implementation of the Community Healthcare Programme, an essential building block in the primary care package. FPD and I-TECH will take responsibility for quality assurance and will conduct formative and summative assessments and evaluations to ensure that the integrated learning approach is effectively implemented. All trained CHWs will have to complete a skills assessment. The project has started in October 2018 and will be concluded after 12 months.