Village health workers in Chhukha have emphasised the need for training, considering the responsibilities they shoulder in delivering primary health care at the community level. During a 12-day intensive training programme held recently in Sinchula, the participants said such capacity-building initiatives are crucial to ensure timely and accurate service delivery and to prevent potential mishaps.
Nearly 60 village health workers from all 11 gewogs of Chhukha received training in a range of areas, including disability, nutrition, palliative care, child health, and first aid, among others.
Participants said such timely training is essential to meet evolving health needs in a changing environment.
“We never know what will happen to us. During emergencies and especially in places away from health centres, it is our responsibility to save lives before the health workers arrive. And to do that, there are many things we should know. So, I feel such training are really important to build the capacity of the village health workers,” said Kinley Wangmo, Village Health Worker, Chanachen, Geling Gewog, Chhukha.
“We got lots of knowledge from the training. The knowledge won’t remain just within us. We will practise it after we go back to our villages because we are like a bridge between people and health service providers. It is our responsibility to make people aware,” said Drakpa, Village Health Worker, Gedu, Bongo Gewog, Chhukha.
“Now, as we go back to our villages, we will create awareness on different topics such as nutrition, prenatal and antenatal care. It will be helpful if we get more training like this,” said Manilal Rai, Village Health Worker, Dungna Gewog, Chhukha.
Health officials say such training is crucial, given the important role village health workers play in bridging communities and the health system.
“We all know how important these village health workers are. Considering this, it is important to provide them with training in order to build their capacities. We should train them at least once a year or every two years. It may not be possible to give comprehensive training like this, but it is important to give them refresher courses,” said Kinley, District Health Officer, Chhukha.
The training, supported by the UNICEF, is aimed at strengthening community-level health services by enhancing knowledge, skills and confidence. Health officials say continued investment in training village health workers will be key to ensuring timely, safe, and reliable health care for communities.
For village health workers, continued training means being better prepared to protect lives, often before help arrives.
Kinley Dem, Chhukha
Edited by Kipchu
