A new policy brief, developed by Senegal’s Ministry of Health and Social Action with support from the Financing Alliance for Health, uses the Community Health Financing Assessment (CHFA) toolkit to evaluate the current state of community health financing in Senegal. The assessment gathered input from national and local stakeholders to identify financial flows, challenges, and opportunities. Despite Senegal’s 50,000 community health workers (CHWs) delivering essential rural services, the report highlights issues like fragmented funding, informal CHW status, weak coordination, and insufficient local planning, hindering effective service delivery.
As Senegal prepares its 2025–2029 National Community Health Strategy, the brief urges reforms to formalise CHW roles, boost domestic funding, and improve coordination. It recommends aligning budgets with community priorities, strengthening performance-based financing systems, and embedding gender equity in leadership and planning. These measures aim to build a more equitable, sustainable, and country-led primary healthcare system that supports universal health coverage and the SDGs.