Management of sick children by community health workers: Intervention models and programme examples

Overview

Millions of children under five years of age are still dying each year from preventable or treatable diseases. Many of these deaths could be prevented through early, appropriate and low-cost treatment of sick children in the home or community.

This joint report by WHO and UNICEF examines programmatic approaches for the community management of children with signs of malaria or pneumonia, specifically antimicrobial treatment, and of children with diarrhoea, through the use of community health workers or their equivalent.