​Back in April, 2018, Community Partners International (CPI) began training a network of Rohingya Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) embedded in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, to provide first response services to their communities. Since then, the CHVs have responded to 75 requests for urgent assistance.

​In late May, and early June, 2018, health worker teams from the Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW) embarked on a fourth round of vaccinations for babies, young children and pregnant women in contested and conflict-affected areas of Kayin State, Myanmar. These communities are remote and hard to reach, accessible only along dirt tracks through mountainous and densely forested terrain that become virtually impassable during the monsoon season. This is the story of one team’s journey to provide lifesaving vaccinations to three villages in Kyainseikgyi township.

On June 16, 2018, more than 70 members of Hpa-An’s Township Health Department (THD), local authorities and women’s organizations gathered in Hpa-An to participate in efforts, supported in part by Community Partners International (CPI), to control the spread of the dengue virus.

​Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) provide the vital first line of primary health care to Rohingya communities in refugee settlements around Cox’s Bazar. Traveling on foot from house to house, they help educate and inform households on key health issues, collect health data, carry out basic health monitoring and refer patients in need of care. A part of the community themselves, they are able to quickly build trust and rapport. To support CHVs in this  crucial work, Community Partners International (CPI) recently launched an initiative to develop a health application for use on handheld devices.