As a medical research institute with a mission to improve the health of millions of people worldwide, The George Institute for Global Health is extremely concerned by the decision of President Trump to withdraw the United States (US) from the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO plays a vital role in protecting and promoting health around the world, not only by coordinating the global response to infectious disease outbreaks, but through strengthening health systems, increasing access to medicines, and improving monitoring and information sharing, particularly in resource-poor settings.

Recognising the WHO’s crucial work to support the right of every human being to the highest attainable standard of health, the United States of America has historically led the way in terms of its support for the agency; in 2018-2019, it was the largest contributor to WHO’s budget, providing 15% of the total.

The decision by the US to withdraw from the WHO as COVID-19 sweeps the world risks worsening the already dire consequences of this pandemic, which we know is striking hardest those most disadvantaged and marginalised in countries across the economic spectrum.

As a global community, this crisis reinforces the need to work together and strengthen the WHO, recognising that the need for a global health agency in our increasingly connected world is greater than ever. We strongly urge US political leaders to reconsider their decision.

In May 2020, the George Institute for Global Health and the Thematic Working Group on Community Health Workers (CHWs) of Health Systems Global collaborated on a survey to assess the availability of resources that support the mental wellbeing of CHWs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey received 74 complete responses (25% from India; 8% from Kenya; 5% from Peru amongst many other countries including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal, the Philippines and South Africa) from a range of organisations, predominantly those working directly with CHWs. A key finding was that while ~50% of organisations noticed mental health symptoms among CHWs and 55% were providing support via mechanisms such as online training and Whatsapp peer support, thus far these interventions have not been evaluated and major gaps persist in supporting the mental health of CHWs.

In response, we are planning a virtual workshop to identify strategies for:

• disseminating gender-sensitive resources to CHWs, especially those working in LMICs, that can help them manage symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other symptoms of mental distress;

• encouraging uptake of such resources, despite stigma around mental illness and competing demands on the CHWs’ time;

• developing a plan for evaluating the acceptability and effectiveness of these resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This workshop is planned for September 2020. Please follow updates on this and related collaborative work on social media with #CHWmentalhealth @GeorgeInstitute @H_S_global