Strengthening Community Health Worker Programs

Dr. Rajesh Ramesh Panjabi is the Founder of the Community Health Academy, CEO of Last Mile Health, and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Originally from Liberia, Dr. Panjabi fled civil war as a child but later returned to co-found Last Mile Health, a non-profit dedicated to expanding primary health care to remote communities by training and supporting community and frontline health workers. He has played a pivotal role in building the Community Health Academy, a global platform leveraging digital technology for the modern training of health workers and leaders. Dr. Panjabi’s expertise spans rural and community-based primary health care systems, with hands-on experience in Liberia, Alaska, and Afghanistan. He is a Gavi Champion, advisor to several global health initiatives, and has served on the World Health Organization’s Community Health Worker Hub. Recognized for his impact, Dr. Panjabi has been named by TIME as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World and by Fortune as one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. He is a recipient of the TED Prize, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, and is a Schwab Social Entrepreneur with the World Economic Forum. Dr. Panjabi holds an MD from the University of North Carolina, trained in internal medicine and primary care at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and earned an MPH in epidemiology from Johns Hopkins. He has authored or co-authored over 50 publications on strengthening community health systems and is a leading advocate for investing in last-mile health workers to achieve universal health coverage.