Village Health Volunteers: Facing up to the Covid-19 Challenge

Abstract

Village Health Volunteers (VHVs) are a crucial component of primary health care in Thailand. They have applied their role in collaboration with the nation’s public health officials at primary and community hospitals since 1978. The outbreak of the 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), first recorded in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019, has infected millions of people in almost every country in the world, leading to illness, hospitalization and, in many cases, untimely death. During this time global healthcare systems have been under enormous strain to contain the virus outbreak and treat sick people. COVID-19 first came to the attention of Thailand as a highly infectious disease on 26 February 2020, but the nation has successfully responded to the pandemic by focusing effort and resources on primary healthcare. VHVs have contributed significantly in their central role in preventing and controlling the virus in communities around the country.