This TIME feature lays out a simple truth: supporting CHWs strengthens health systems, protects communities, and saves lives.
This article was originally published in TIME.
by Dr. Madeleine Ballard and Davidson Polyte
In 1989—the year we were both born—the world seemed to be unraveling. The U.S. invaded Panama. Thousands were massacred in Tiananmen Square. The Exxon Valdez spilled millions of gallons of oil into Alaska’s waters. The Berlin Wall fell. It was a chaotic time, marked by upheaval, debt crises, economic stagnation, and rising inequality.
And yet, even the world’s most conservative leaders from President Ronald Reaganto Margaret Thatcher rallied around a single, urgent goal: saving children’s lives. Ceasefires were declared so health campaigns could proceed. Vaccination rates leapt from 20% to 80%. By 1990, 25 million children who might otherwise have died were alive.
The lesson? Progress is not just a question of fortune, but of focus.
Read the full article here.