Nhin Kpă From La Rsươm, Viet Nam

11 February 2022

Nhin Kpă has been a community health worker since 2019, working to provide essential health services to people living in a remote region of Viet Nam who are at high risk of malaria.

“My goal is to help many people in the community – for myself, for my family, for the community in which I live,” he says.

Nhin is part of a Community Malaria Action Team (CMAT). He travels by motorbike to share knowledge on malaria and teach people how to protect themselves and prevent the disease. He also refers patients to health facilities for testing and treatment when needed.

Many of the people in Nhin’s community live in poverty and travel deep into the surrounding forests to earn a living by planting, harvesting or picking cashew nuts, cassava, corn, and bamboo shoots. The forest trips can last for weeks at a time and the workers sleep outside, exposed to malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

When COVID-19 hit, health workers like Nhin took on an even larger role in the community, sharing information about preventing COVID-19, providing masks and hand sanitizer, and giving out much-needed food packages to families.

Copyright: The Global Fund and SCDI/Lê Văn Kiến

Nhin and his colleagues are well-respected leaders in their villages, forming a crucial bridge between the communities and health facilities. CMAT workers like Nhin are also the first to recognize and respond to disease outbreaks, providing protection against future health threats.

Global Fund investments support more than 9,800 community health workers like Nhin in Viet Nam.