Pwojé Bon Vwazen (The Good Neighbor Project) An initiative to develop a community health worker project as a response to COVID-19 in Haiti

Linacre Q. 2022 May;89(2):178-183. doi: 10.1177/00243639211040320. Epub 2021 Sep 21.

Abstract

Understanding the resource limitations in developing countries, a community health worker (CHW) project was developed to help educate, provide materials, and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Haiti. CHWs have shown to be an evidence-driven alternative in resource-limited settings. Pwojé Bon Vwazen (The Good Neighbor Project) took place from May 2020 to September 2020 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Through the project, 9 CHWs were trained. The project had two coordinators in Haiti. The CHWs, over the period of 4 months, were able to reach 1350 individuals and provide them with education regarding spread and prevention of COVID-19 and distribute materials including soap, hand sanitizers, and masks which were sewn in Haiti. Access to affordable health care presents a unique challenge in resource-limited countries. Training of CHWs and implementation of a CHW program can be an alternative in certain situations.

Keywords: Catholic social thought; Pope Francis; dignity of the human person; faith and science; health care in developing nations; healthcare access; international research; poor.