Group of community health workers with the Boost app

What is Boost?

Boost is a digital job aide for community health workers and peer educators that enhances their knowledge, skills, and confidence to share accurate and actionable HIV, sexual and reproductive health, and other primary health information with their communities. This in turn builds community trust in their roles and increases the agency of community members to make informed health choices.

Ownership of Boost was handed over to Avert’s long-standing partner in Zimbabwe OPHID at the end of December 2024, as part of Avert’s wider transition strategy. An East African version of Boost called Himarika has also been handed over to national NGO LVCT Health in Kenya.

Boost was initially co-created with over 100 community health workers in Southern Africa to support their specific knowledge needs and ways of working.

How can you access Boost?

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Website

Access all the Boost content online at boost.avert.org

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Android app

An enhanced app version is available to organisations through OPHID to use offline

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OPHID

Contact OPHID for details about adopting Boost in your organisation

Why Boost?

In sub-Saharan Africa, the impact of HIV and resource limitations mean community health workers play a particularly vital role in the health system and are often the primary source of health information for many.

To play an effective role, they need clear, accessible, and accurate information so they can provide high quality care to their communities. But often community health workers rely on paper-based resources which are difficult to keep up-to-date, or in-person training which varies in terms of regularity and quality.

The app has made it easy for peer educators to share correct information with their clients.

Zvandiri

Boost as a digital job-aide

Boost provides a digital alternative specifically developed and tailored to the needs of community health workers and the sub-Saharan African context.

Boost is a quick and convenient way for community health workers to stay up to date and have the information they need to hand throughout the day.

Purpose built for community health workers

Boost was designed and developed in collaboration with hundreds of community health workers from across East and Southern Africa. The Boost brand provides easy, up-to-date, visual, and interactive materials on HIV, sexual health, female genital schistosomiasis (FGS), COVID-19, mental health and other primary health information. It supports community health workers’ ongoing learning and equips them with fun, interactive tools that they can use and share with their clients and peers.

Boost is:

  • Free to access via the website www.boost-health.org
  • Available as an enhanced Android app that works offline
  • Available to individuals and organisations
  • Regularly updated with the latest information
  • Available in English, Shona and Ndebele

What I love most about Boost is that it is simple but very educating and it will help me so much in my field.

Loveness

Community health worker in Zambia

How is Boost making a difference?

As of December 2024, Boost had been used by over 310,000 users across sub-Saharan Africa to support their own learning and client interactions.

Boost has been used by self-motivated individual community health workers and peer educators, as well as through organisational adoption of Boost as a programme tool.

Through a partnership with OPHID implementing Boost in Zimbabwe, the app was enhanced to include screening and referral tools and has been used by hundreds of their community outreach agents (COAs) supporting over 228,000 health screenings and 98,100 referrals to health services.

Boost in Zimbabwe has:

  • improved COAs’ knowledge, skills and confidence on HIV, sexual health, family planning, FGS and mental health
  • provided COAs improved screening and referral tools and processes to support young people’s access to HIV, sexual health, family planning, FGS and mental health services
  • improved young people’s capability, knowledge of, and demand for HIV, sexual health, family planning, FGS and mental health services.

Read more about the achievements of Boost in Zimbabwe.

Boost scale up

During 2024 Boost was adopted by four new organisations in Zimbabwe with OPHID supporting and mentoring their roll-out of the job aid to their cohorts, putting Boost in the hands of hundreds more community health workers.

Boost is a cost effective, scalable and adaptable product that can help address the knowledge needs of community health workers, peer educators and other outreach workers across sub-Saharan Africa.

Reach

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Boost users in sub-Saharan Africa
310,000+
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modules of core health content
53
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organisations adopted Boost in Zimbabwe
5

Engagement and outcomes

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had increased confidence
96%
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users say Boost increases health knowledge
97%
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users find Boost useful
97%

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of supervisors say Boost increases CHW’s quality of service
100%
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users say Boost helps interaction with young people
87%
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referrals to relevant health services
98,100

Find out more about Boost

If you work with community health workers who would benefit from Boost, get in touch with OPHID (Zimbabwe and Southern Africa) or LVCT Health (Kenya and East Africa).

Photo credit: Hilton Matyatya. Photos are used for illustrative purposes. They do not imply health status or behaviour.

* 2021-22 and 2023-24 Boost evaluations

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All material on www.avert.info is copyright Avert (unless stated otherwise). All rights reserved. Registered UK charity number: 1074849. Registered UK company number: 3716796.