One Million Community Health Workers

New campaign aims to transform healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa by deploying 1 million health workers by 2015.

DAKAR, Senegal, July 25, 2013: Today, actress Olivia Wilde and RYOT News co-founders David Darg and Bryn Mooser arrived in Senegal to document first-hand the work of the One Million Community Health Workers Campaign, which is working to develop cadres of community health workers in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015 to meet the health-related Millennium Development Goals.

In Senegal, Wilde will shadow community health workers and visit with the community to learn why their work is so important to the health of sub-Saharan Africa’s poor.  Live updates and photo/video content will be posted daily on RYOT.org throughout the trip to expand awareness of the campaign.  Follow the campaign here: www.ryot.org/1Mhealthworkers.

Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, who launched the campaign with African heads of state at the annual meeting of the African Union earlier this year, stated, “The work of community health workers will transform health care delivery across the continent and is critical to meet the health-related Millennium Development Goals. We are moving rapidly with governments, NGOs and private partners to train and deploy community health workers across Africa. We are all deeply grateful to RYOT and Olivia for putting their great creative talents into this project and supporting the life-saving work of community health workers.”

“I am thrilled to be a part of this campaign,” said Wilde. “It is essential that people not only see the work that is happening on the ground but also understand why this campaign is so central to improving global health. I’m so pleased that Jeffrey Sachs has invited me to join his team and that RYOT will tell the story.”

In a joint statement, RYOT News co-founders David Darg and Bryn Mooser said, “We are so excited to be in Senegal with Olivia and the One Million Community Health Workers Campaign. As filmmakers, it is our goal to tell the stories that go untold. We are thrilled with the opportunity to share with the world updates from the ground on RYOT.org and produce footage of our trip with Olivia to educate the masses about this important campaign.”

Having spent a combined 7 years in West Africa and as speakers of three local languages, Darg and Mooser are very familiar with Senegal and the development of the country. Darg and Mooser said, “West Africa is a changing landscape, economically and socially, and will be an important part of the world in the coming decade as the region further develops. Community health workers are vital to that development. This is why the One Million Community Health Workers Campaign is so important.”

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More on RYOT News: RYOT.org is a new social news platform that connects each news story with opportunities to engage with a cause or organization and take action. Created by David Darg and Bryn Mooser in partnership with Sophia Bush and Ian Somerhalder, RYOT aims to change the way people consume news by providing opportunities to engage with a cause and take action for each story.  RYOT aggregates news to enable the public to find out about what’s going on in the world and what they can do to take a stand for positive change.  For more information on RYOT and to follow the campaign, please visit www.ryot.org/1Mhealthworkers.

For information or media inquiries, please contact Alexandra Barnett, Barnett@sunshinesachs.com

More on One Million Community Health Workers Campaign: The One Million Community Health Workers Campaign is working with governments, NGOs and the private sector to train, equip and deploy a scale-up of efforts already in place and build integrated health systems that include community health workers. Most recently, the campaign was brought on as a central pillar of the Global Poverty Project’s Global Citizen Festival, reaching millions of people this fall.  The campaign was launched earlier this year by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs (Director of The Earth Institute, Columbia University and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals) and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.  The campaign aims to expand and accelerate community health worker programs in sub-Saharan African countries.  Visit 1millionhealthworkers.org to learn more.

Follow the campaign: 

• Twitter: @1Mhealthworkers
• Facebook.com/1millionhealthworkers and  Instagram.com/1millionhealthworkers

For information or media inquiries, please contact Erin Trowbridge, trowbridge@ei.columbia.edu