Health worker team in Kenya

A team of health workers at Mathare North Health Facility in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo by Patrick Meinhardt for IntraHealth International.

How can I get involved? 

  • Add your voice to the #WHWWeek conversation on social media! Use our WHWW Social Media Guide with key messages, graphics, suggested tweets, and online activities.
     
  • Participate in our #WHWWeek Video Testimonial Series and tell health policymakers why frontline health workers are Leaders on the Line and how we can better support them. Together with our member Chemonics International, and through the USAID-funded HRH2030 Program, we're gathering a wide range of short testimonials—from frontline health workers to global health leaders. It's easy to take part—see our guidance and upload your *short* video. We'll share testimonials throughout World Health Worker Week and beyond.
     
  • Celebrate World Health Day on Tuesday, April 7. In this International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, World Health Day will shine a light on the vital role nurses and midwives play in providing health care around the world, and call for a strengthening of the nursing and midwifery workforce. Share and promote World Health Day assets here.
     
  • Follow our social media relay. Each day one or more of our coalition members will post engaging content and lead discussions around different types of health workers:
  • Join our member Johnson & Johnson and us to give a Global Round of Applause for Frontline Health Workers on Friday, April 10:
    • At 8AM EST: Post the following tweet (see our WHWW Social Media Guide for the graphic):
      Around the world, health workers are working tirelessly to contain #COVID19 and risking their own lives to put patients first. This #WHWWeek, we salute you, we thank you, and we stand with you. RT to clap for our #HealthHeroes! #HealthWorkersCount👏👏 
       
    • At 8PM EST: Post the following tweet (see our WHWW Social Media Guide for the graphic):
      In the hospital. At the clinic. With the community. Our health workers stand up to #COVID19 for us, and this #WHWWeek, it’s our turn to stand up for them and say loud and clear that #HealthWorkersCount. RT to say THANK YOU to our #HealthHeroes!
       
  • Nominate women midwife and nurse leaders making a difference in global health here. To celebrate the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, our member Women in Global Health is creating a list of 100 Outstanding Nurse and Midwife Leaders and is calling for nominations for eight categories.
     
  • Organize your own online events, local advocacy campaigns, and other activities calling global leaders to prioritize health workforce strengthening. Share them using #WHWWeek and #LeadersOnTheLine. 

Take action for health workers

World Health Worker Week is only seven days, but you can take action and make a difference year round. Follow us on Twitter to get updates of our activities, news, and ways to get involved.

Why do #HealthWorkersCount?

They are caretakers. They are educators. They are your neighbors, friends, and family. The majority of frontline health workers are women. Without them, there would be no health services for millions of families worldwide.

Frontline health workers are midwives, community health workers, pharmacists, peer counselors, nurses, and doctors working at the community level as the first point of care for communities. They are the backbone of effective health systems and often come from the very communities they serve. Let's work together to urge countries, donors, and policymakers to foster additional health worker leadership by increasing access to leadership training, skills-building, and mentorship programs and addressing gender inequalities in leadership opportunities.