Program Pillar

Community Health & Well-Being

Promoting holistic health for vulnerable communities, with particular attention to women and children — closing the distance between a household and basic, life-saving information.

The challenge

The nearest clinic is often not the nearest problem

In many of the communities ACV works with, the barrier to better health is rarely a lack of awareness alone — it is distance, cost, and the time it takes for accurate information to travel from a clinic to a household. Community-based volunteers shorten that distance.

ACV Community Health Programme

How we work

What this program actually does

Each activity below is designed to reinforce at least one other ACV pillar — nothing here runs in isolation.

Community Health Volunteer Network

Local volunteers trained on basic maternal, child and hygiene health messaging, doing household visits in their own neighbourhoods between clinic visits.

Maternal & Child Health Outreach

Awareness sessions on pregnancy care, child nutrition and danger-sign recognition, run in coordination with local health structures rather than in place of them.

WASH & Water Point Monitoring

Basic water-quality checks at community collection points, paired with hygiene-practice sessions ahead of high-risk periods like the rainy season.

Safeguarding & Psychosocial Awareness

Staff and volunteer training on safeguarding standards and where to refer community members who need psychosocial support beyond ACV's own scope.

Why it matters

Measured against real change, not activity counts

Indicative figures from current and recent programming — refreshed as each cohort or season closes.

0trained community health volunteer network active in Goma

0neighbourhoods covered by household visit routes

0rainy-season WASH awareness campaigns run to date

0%of field staff trained on the current Safeguarding Policy

Part of a bigger model

Health is the floor every other program stands on

A sick household cannot farm, study or run a small business at full capacity — which is why this pillar is treated as foundational infrastructure, not an add-on.

Education & Youth Capacity Building

Equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and leadership platforms to drive change in their own communities.

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Nature Protection & Biodiversity Conservation

Protecting and restoring the Congo Basin's ecosystems around Virunga through community-led conservation.

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Sustainable Agriculture & Food Security

Building climate-resilient, food-secure communities through regenerative farming and agro-ecology.

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Socio-Economic Empowerment & Livelihoods

Opening pathways out of poverty through skills training, enterprise support and economic inclusion.

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Make it possible

Help this program reach the next community

This work is funded season by season, cohort by cohort. Here is how to be part of the next one.

Volunteer your skills

Share your expertise with ACV's youth teams — from agronomy to graphic design, remote or on the ground.

Get involved

Partner with us

NGOs, foundations and institutions: co-design a program, fund a pillar, or join a technical partnership.

Start a conversation

Support the work

Every contribution funds tree nurseries, school materials, clinic supplies and farmer training kits.

Ways to give