Prof. Nicklaus Labhardt advocates for community health workers in NCD care to achieve UHC

Prof. Labhardt (right) with Dr. Ditaba during his presentation titled “Responding to Non-Communicable Diseases for Achieving UHC: Community Health Workers as a Cornerstone for Affordable, High-Quality Chronic Care in Rural Africa – Lessons from Lesotho” at the Network of African Parliamentary Committees of Health Forum held on 26th February, 2026, at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre, Kenneth Kaunda Wing.

 

Prof. Nicklaus Labhardt of the University of Basel has called for the institutionalisation and financing of Community Health Workers responding to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) to improve access to chronic care and accelerate the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in rural Africa.

Prof. Labhardt said the growing burden of non-communicable diseases requires innovative and affordable service delivery models.

He explained that lessons from Lesotho show that trained Community Health Workers significantly improve early diagnosis, treatment adherence and patient follow-up.

He has urged governments to integrate Community Health Workers into national health systems and scale up their training and support.