The Ministry of Health, through the National Community Health Program (NCHP), has launched the Community Health Workers Entrepreneurship Strategy, an innovative initiative designed to strengthen the sustainability of Liberia’s community health program.

The strategy aims to empower every Community Health Assistant (CHA) through the Community Health Committee (CHC) by providing funding to establish cooperatives and invest in livelihood income-generating activities. The returns on these investments are expected, over time, to contribute toward providing livelihood support for our Community Health Assistants and reducing the long-term dependence of the community health program on donors and implementing partners.

The initiative was officially launched on May 1, 2026, with financial support from the Mastercard Foundation through UNICEF.

As part of the implementation approach, three non-governmental organizations have been awarded contracts to work closely with the Program:

• Last Mile Health (LMH) will support the training of Community Health Committees on their roles and responsibilities, leadership, accountability, and effective management of community health structures.

• Catholic Relief Services (CRS) will lead the entrepreneurship component, supporting CHCs to identify and establish appropriate income-generating activities while strengthening their capacity in livelihood and financial management.

• BASA Development Initiative will work closely with community structures and support the monitoring of entrepreneurship activities to promote accountability, proper management of investments, and documentation of progress.

Phase one of the Community Health Workers Entrepreneurship Strategy will focus on Region One, covering Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, and Gbarpolu Counties.

The initial implementation will provide an opportunity to strengthen community structures, test sustainable business models, document lessons learned, and generate evidence to guide the expansion of the strategy to additional counties and regions.

Recognizing that the long-term sustainability of Liberia’s National Community Health Program requires stronger community ownership and innovative financing mechanisms, the MOH believes that investing in the capacity of Community Health Committees to generate income will transform community health structures from primarily implementing bodies into active partners in financing and sustaining community health services.

The Ministry of Health extends its sincere appreciation to the Mastercard Foundation and UNICEF for their financial and technical support toward this initiative, as the Ministry of Health remains committed to building a stronger, community-owned, and financially sustainable national community health program that can continue to deliver essential affordable health services to communities across Liberia.