Capacity Building of Community Health Workers by Volunteer

Strengthening Community Health Workers’ Knowledge by Volunteer Dr. Zainab Motiwala

Dr. Zainab Motiwala, a medical graduate student, was refered to a Co-Investigator at Weill Cornell Medicine through a mutual contact. Dr Zainab expressed her interest in volunteering to support the capacity building of Community Health Workers (CHWs) across a wide range of health topics, including maternal and child health, RTIs/STIs, HIV/AIDS, snake bites, pneumonia, breastfeeding, family planning, and other essential updated health knowledge.

Since April 2025, she has been visiting Deep Griha Society on a weekly basis to conduct awareness and training sessions on diverse health-related subjects. As a result, CHWs have received structured training on key health areas to enhance their ability to address women’s health concerns beyond diabetes and to provide essential maternal and child health guidance. The sessions have covered topics such as care of preterm neonates, tuberculosis, thyroid disorders, Hepatitis B, thalassemia, and newborn asphyxia.

Through these sessions, Community Health Workers have gained the confidence and knowledge to address women’s health-related questions in the community. Earlier, they often found it difficult to respond to various concerns raised by women, but now they are able to guide them more effectively.