The 2025 Challenge

Community Health Workers:
Catalysts for a Reimagined
Health System

The inaugural Common Health Challenge spotlighted Community Health Workers (CHWs) as trusted professionals who build bridges among clinical, public health, and community organizations to facilitate access to services and improve health.

CHWs are a linchpin for effective collaboration across health care and public health. While we saw a burgeoning of CHW programs during the pandemic, that progress is now in jeopardy as COVID-19-related funding and attention ebbs across the nation. But a different path is possible, where CHWs are stitched into the fabric of our health system.

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Organizations took the inaugural 2025 Challenge

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Through the Catalyst Awards

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Members joined the CHW Community of Practice

The three-pronged approach

How the 2025 Challenge drove impact

The 2025 Common Health Challenge supported communities throughout the U.S. by advancing, encouraging, and amplifying locally driven, collaborative CHW initiatives that bridge the divides between health care and public health. With expert advising from the National Association of Community Health Workers and HealthBegins, the Coalition implemented a three-pronged approach:

Amplify and educate

about the importance of CHWs to health outcomes and health equity.

Identify and articulate the mutual benefit

A forum for members to elevate and learn from existing efforts.

Propose and encourage adoption of “CHW Compacts”

 that operationalize evidence-based, accountable, and sustainable partnerships.

The 2026 Common Health Challenge

Regional Action Networks: Catalyzing Collaboration Across Communities

The 2026 Challenge highlights Regional Action Networks – collaborations between health care and public health organizations working across geographic borders and sectors to tackle shared health priorities, improving outcomes for patients and communities.

Take the Challenge by committing your organization to focus on building or strengthening Regional Action Networks and cross-sector partnerships.  

2026 Challenge