Malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia claim the lives of more than 400,000 children under five years-old in Nigeria every year. To improve health care access and reduce child deaths, the government is implementing integrated community case management (iCCM), a globally recognized model which relies on community health workers to provide diagnostic and treatment services at the household level.
Rooted in their communities, these volunteers turn compassion into action. With adequate training and essential equipment and commodities, they can serve as lifelines in their communities, helping caregivers navigate childhood illness.
Hands-on training for community health workers
To support the management and treatment of childhood illness, the iCCM model requires community health workers to be trained, equipped, and supervised. In Nigeria, these local volunteers are called Community Health Influencers, Promoters, and Services (CHIPS) Agents.
Through the support of the Rotary Healthy Communities Challenge (RHCC) project, 706 community health workers were trained in 2025, including 507 CHIPS Agents who use rapid diagnostic test kits to diagnose malaria, assess respiratory rate to detect pneumonia, and measure arm circumference to check for malnutrition. Experienced health workers mentored new CHIPS Agents in the post-training period, demonstrating how to counsel families and offer lifesaving treatment.
Advancing Nigeria’s primary health care objectives, the RHCC project invests in skill-development through a unique community partnership model, which combines the advocacy power of Rotarians and the technical expertise of PATH.
The benefits of RHCC expand beyond Nigeria: RHCC is a three-year multicountry project, where PATH is the main implementing partner in Nigeria. In the other three project countries—the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and Zambia—World Vision is the lead implementing partner with PATH providing critical technical assistance.
Saving lives, one diagnosis at a time
Edidiong Gabriel Sylvester is a CHIPS Agent who supports community health in southern Nigeria. In June 2025, she participated in a multi-day training offered by the Akwa Ibom State Primary Health Care Development Agency, a state-level Nigerian government agency responsible for strengthening primary health care across the country.
The Akwa Ibom government, with support from the RHCC project, trained Edidiong and other CHIPS Agents in her cohort on how to properly diagnosis and manage care and treatment for several childhood illnesses, including malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia. After the training, CHIPS Agents underwent two weeks of intensive skills-based mentoring by trained health professionals. This hands-on training was a turning point for Edidiong, building her confidence and clinical knowledge needed to save lives in her community.
Armed with her training and RHCC-provided supplies, Edidiong demonstrated calmness and precision during a November 2025 site visit. She swiftly administered a malaria rapid diagnostic test, recorded the positive result, provided artemisinin-based combination therapy, and counseled the child’s mother on next steps—turning knowledge into better health outcomes.
With the support of RHCC, CHIPS Agents receive lifesaving medicines, simple diagnostic tools, clear job aids, and sturdy backpacks to carry their supplies. The availability of free health services where it is needed most is essential for reducing childhood mortality and maintaining community trust.
“My village people are very happy for this project,” said Edidiong Gabriel Sylvester, reflecting on her experience as a CHIPS Agent. “My people now have more confidence in me and receive me well.”
Community health workers, like Edidiong, break down cultural barriers and counter health misinformation, planting seeds of trust in every household they visit and contributing to the transformation of Nigeria’s primary health care system.
Edidiong, a CHIPS Agent, in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria. Photo: PATH/Meredith Center.
A foundation built on volunteerism
Edidiong’s ability to confidently detect and treat malaria reflects the strength of collective action. Rotarians in Nigeria invested more than 3,000 hours in the first year of the project, ensuring the successful launch of RHCC, supporting the project’s entry into Akwa Ibom and Kebbi States, and providing their continued leadership to keep the project moving forward.
In every RHCC country, implementation is guided by a Country Committee, chaired by a Rotary member and bringing together Rotarians, health officials, and technical partners. This collaborative structure ensures alignment with national priorities and strengthens accountability.
Rotary members lead RHCC’s advocacy and communication efforts, mobilizing project champions and providing hands-on support to project implementation. Their active engagement is what makes RHCC unique—building not just programs, but long-term local partnerships that build healthier, more resilient communities.
“Serving as advocates and volunteers, Rotary members use their networks to hold governments accountable in addressing community health care needs, especially for children under five,” explained Dr. Dele Balogun, the RHCC Nigeria Country Committee Lead.
By equipping CHIPS Agents with skills and tools, and mobilizing Rotarians to advocate and lead, RHCC is closing critical gaps in care for Nigeria’s most vulnerable children. Every diagnosis, every treatment, and every conversation between a health worker and a caregiver represents progress toward a future where no child dies from preventable illness.
