Types of Providers

There are many types of healthcare providers. This I-Kit separates providers into two broad groups: Community Health Workers (CHWs) and Facility-Based Providers (FBPs).

Community Health Workers

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A Community Health Worker is a health worker who receives standardized training outside of the formal nursing or medical curricula to deliver a range of basic health, promotional, educational and mobilization services, and has a defined role within the community system and larger health system. Some CHWs are paid and others are volunteers. Some examples include: Auxiliary Health Workers, Health Extension Workers and Community Health Volunteers.

Learn More About CHW Categories

Facility-Based Providers

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A Facility-Based Provider is a health worker who has received formalized training with a nursing or medical curricula, and is a paid employee at a public, private, or non-governmental organization health facility. Some examples include: Doctors, Nurses, Nurse-Midwives, Medical Assistants, Technicians, Clinical Officers, and Technicians.

Providers are the critical link between the larger health system and the end beneficiaries – the clients. However, providers face numerous challenges to fulfilling their roles including: limited resources, insufficient training and supplies, and the burden of too many responsibilities. If these challenges are unaddressed, health systems will continue to fall short of their potential valuable contribution through low motivation, poor retention and overall under performance.