Boost
The digital job aide Boost was created to give community health workers the knowledge and confidence to share accurate health information with their communities
The digital job aide Boost was created to give community health workers the knowledge and confidence to share accurate health information with their communities
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.
Website
Access all the Boost content online at boost.avert.org
Android app
An enhanced app version is available to organisations through OPHID to use offline
OPHID
Contact OPHID for details about adopting Boost in your organisation
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.
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.
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:
What I love most about Boost is that it is simple but very educating and it will help me so much in my field.
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:
Read more about the achievements of Boost in Zimbabwe.
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.
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