Integrating peer supervision within government-led community health systems has proven to be a cost-effective way to improve the quality-of-care CHWs provide and sustain performance at scale. By shifting from externally driven oversight to peer-led data informed approaches, Living Goods and its government partners are helping optimize supervision models that improve efficiency and accountability across community health systems.

Following the rollout of Uganda’s eCHIS, the Ministry of Health and the District Local Governments of Mayuge and Wakiso, with support from Living Goods Uganda and UNICEF, transitioned CHWs—known locally as Village Health Teams (VHTs)—from paper-based reporting to the national digital platform.

This digital transition has made performance data more visible and actionable, allowing peer supervisors to tailor their support to areas of need and track processes more efficiently. Building on this milestone, Living Goods partnered with the two districts to strengthen government-led supervision by integrating peer supervision—an approach we’ve tested and refined since 2018.

Working with district leaders, we identified operational sites, clarified supervision roles—Community Health Extension Workers (CHEWs) in Mayuge and VHT Parish Coordinators in Wakiso—and mapped all peer groups digitally to ensure alignment with government systems. Each peer group includes six to 10 CHWs, with supervision conducted mainly through group meetings and targeted door-to-door visits.

Peer leaders receive ongoing mentorship from district and Living Goods staff on supervision, data use, and digital troubleshooting. To address competing priorities among peer leaders, we are supporting them to develop monthly supervision workplans and advocating for performance-based incentives to sustain motivation and accountability.

These experiences are directly informing Living Goods’ upcoming strategic plan, which will build on lessons to further optimize digital, data-driven supervision models that enhance quality, efficiency and affordability—while embedding sustainable practices within government systems.