Volunteer Community Health Assistant (CHA)

Role Overview

The Community Health Assistant acts as the vital link between formal health facilities and the communities they serve, bringing primary care, prevention, and health education directly to households. Day to day, you will deliver routine services like immunizations and basic illness management, coordinate a team of Community Health Promoters, and ensure reliable health data flows back to the health facility and county authorities. Your work matters because it determines whether the Kenya Community Health Strategy becomes real at the grassroots level, reduces preventable illness, and keeps vulnerable mothers, children, and chronically ill patients connected to care.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver basic preventive and curative services at community and facility level, including routine immunizations, health education, oral rehydration for diarrhoea, malaria case management, and growth monitoring support.
• Conduct scheduled household visits to promote antenatal and postnatal care, exclusive breastfeeding, proper nutrition, hand hygiene, sanitation, and safe water handling, while identifying homes that need closer follow-up.
• Plan and lead community dialogue days, health action days, and awareness campaigns that encourage uptake of family planning, preventive screening, and other underused health services.
• Supervise, coach, and support Community Health Promoters by defining their household lists, setting clear performance expectations, and carrying out annual training and biannual supportive supervision visits.
• Work with Community Health Committees, local leaders, NGO partners, and Ministry of Health staff to implement community health action plans and strengthen referral pathways between households and health facilities.
• Track patient defaulters across immunization, HIV care, nutrition programs, and chronic illness follow-up, then coordinate outreach to bring them back into treatment.
• Maintain accurate service records, compile data using MOH registers and digital reporting platforms, and submit timely reports to the health facility and program stakeholders.
• Participate in facility meetings, health surveys, camp-wide assessments, and intersectoral coordination forums to inform continuous program improvement and national strategy rollout.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Diploma in Community Health, Public Health, Environmental Health, or a related field from a recognized institution.
• Current registration with the relevant Kenyan regulatory or professional body.
• At least two years of hands-on experience in community health, public health, or primary healthcare programming.
• Essential experience applying the Kenya Community Health Strategy and Community Health Policy in partnership with the Ministry of Health and county health departments.
• Demonstrated ability to design community engagement and behavior change communication (BCC) strategies that lead to measurable, lasting improvements in community health behaviour.
• Strong understanding of how MOH and county health structures operate, including reporting lines, referral systems, and local health facility roles.
• Excellent oral and written communication, interpersonal, and facilitation skills, with the cultural sensitivity needed to work respectfully across diverse communities.
• Proven adaptability and teamwork in challenging, low-resource, or unsettled environments.
• Prior experience in refugee settings or with displaced populations is an added advantage.