Digital payment to community health workers in Uganda: lessons learnt from non-governmental organizations (Pexel Photo by Denis Ngai)

Authors: Elizabeth Ekirapa-Kiracho1*, Maggie Ashaba1, Paul Katamba1
Makerere University School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy, Planning and Management.
For more information contact; Dr. Elizabeth Ekirapa-Kiracho Email: ekky@musph.ac.ug

Introduction

The utilization of digital payments within the health arena is on the rise globally. In Uganda however, the use of digital modes for community health worker (CHWs) payments is yet to be fully embraced. Furthermore, there is a dearth of information on the extent to which e-payments to CHWs have been used and the drivers (barriers and facilitators) of this payment mode from the payer’s perspective. Makerere University School of public health through the Digital Health Payment Initiatives and Research in Africa (DHPI-R) conducted a rapid assessment to generate evidence on the digital payment of CHWs in non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Specifically, this was aimed at exploring the rationale of as well as the extent to which digital payment for CHWs is used in NGOs.

Methods

We conducted a rapid assessment of three selected NGOs, known to work with CHWs. An interview guide was used to collect information from nominated representatives of each organization in the month of October 2022. Transcripts were developed after which a thematic analysis of data was done to generate findings.

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