Wiring the Community Health Worker: A Winning Strategy for NCD Care

The report argues that combining digital innovation with the trusted presence of community health workers (CHWs) is a critical strategy for reducing premature deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It highlights that while NCDs now cause 74% of global deaths, health systems face a projected shortage of 10 million healthcare workers by 2030. Through case studies in India, Kenya, and the Philippines, the document demonstrates that 'offline-first' technology and task-shifting to CHWs improve patient outcomes, such as blood pressure control. The report emphasizes the need to professionalize the CHW workforce through formal training, credentialing, and fair compensation to ensure sustainable health system strengthening.

• Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become the primary cause of global mortality, accounting for 74% of all deaths annually, which equates to 41 million people, with heart disease alone causing 17.9 million of these deaths.
• Global health systems are facing a critical workforce shortage, with the WHO projecting a deficit of 10 million healthcare workers by 2030, which limits the capacity to manage the growing burden of NCDs.
• Digital health tools are most effective when they support CHWs through 'offline-first' capabilities, which are essential for expanding care in rural areas with limited connectivity.
• Case studies demonstrate the impact of digitally enabled CHWs: in India, the Digital LifeCare platform saw a 94% increase in enrolments in 2023; in Kenya, 1,244 CHWs were trained to screen over 150,000 people; and in the Philippines, a pilot saw 89% of enrollees achieve blood pressure control compared to 60% at the start.
• The professionalization of CHWs—including formal training, clear roles, and fair compensation—is a primary driver of success. For example, Brazil's model integrates salaried CHWs into the public health system with legal protections and minimum wage.
• A survey of 1,141 CHWs reveals high optimism toward digital health, with 83.8% feeling either 'very optimistic' or 'optimistic' about its positive impact on the community, and 74.5% identifying as early adopters of new technology.
• Despite the potential, digital health investment is heavily skewed toward the United States, which received 68% ($17.7 billion) of the $25.9 billion total global digital health investment in 2022.

APA

World Economic Forum (2023). Wiring the Community Health Worker: A Winning Strategy for NCD Care. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Wiring_the_Community_Health_Worker_2023.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Wiring the Community Health Worker: A Winning Strategy for NCD Care. 2023. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Wiring_the_Community_Health_Worker_2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Wiring the Community Health Worker: A Winning Strategy for NCD Care |date=December 2023 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Wiring_the_Community_Health_Worker_2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2023wiring, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Wiring the Community Health Worker: A Winning Strategy for NCD Care}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Wiring_the_Community_Health_Worker_2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }