The importance of community health workers as frontline responders during the COVID-19 pandemic, Somalia, 2020-2021.

Introduction: We examined the contribution of community health workers as frontline responders for the community-based surveillance in Somalia during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic for detection of COVID-19 cases and identification of contacts.

Methods: We retrieved COVID-19 surveillance data from 16 March 2020 to 31 March 2021 from the health ministry's central database. These data were collected through community health workers, health facilities or at the points of entry.