Conclusion

In a recent article in PLOS Medicine, more than 200 experts were asked the question, "Which single intervention would do the most to improve the health of those living on less than $1 per day?"

Here is Paul Farmer’s reply:

"Hire community health workers to serve them. In my experience in the rural reaches of Africa and Haiti, and among the urban poor too, the problem with so many funded health programs is that they never go the extra mile: resources (money, people, plans, services) get hung up in cities and towns. If we train village health workers, and make sure they're compensated, then the resources intended for the world's poorest—from vaccines, to bednets, to prenatal care, and to care for chronic diseases like AIDS and tuberculosis—would reach the intended beneficiaries. Training and paying village health workers also creates jobs among the very poorest."