Over the last several years, there has been a growing trend for countries to develop national policies and strategies specifically for community health. To help ensure inclusion of family planning within these frameworks, the Advancing Partners & Communities (APC) project has filled information and programming gaps related to harmonizing and scaling up community health programs, and provided technical assistance in community health policy design and implementation. APC’s community health systems portfolio comprises the following resources and approaches:
Community Health Systems Catalog
The Catalog, one of APC’s flagship resources, provides information on community health policies and programs in 25 countries. Updated in 2017, it provides policymakers, NGOs, researchers, and donors with policy data to advance community health research, programming, and advocacy efforts. The Catalog includes country profiles, infographics, the full downloadable dataset, and an in-depth, visual summary of cross-country policy and program trends.
Using Human-Centered Design to Shape Policy
Human-centered design is a process that fosters innovation and puts people and communities at the center of problem-solving. To support optimal implementation of community health policies and programs, APC piloted a human-centered design approach to inform national policy development in Tanzania and Sierra Leone, ensuring that community voices were included in the process.
Video: Policy Matters for Community Health
This educational video tells the story of fictional characters Winnie and Mary, and how a fragmented health system affects their ability to access family planning services, underscoring policy’s role in improving the health system and advancing family planning goals.
Drug Shops and Pharmacies
APC supports evidence-based advocacy and policy to expand family planning options through pharmacies and drug shops at global and country levels. APC’s resources provide market analysis and lessons about the roles of informal and formal private providers in improving family planning access and quality, as part of a broader total market approach.
Community-based Health System Model Brief Series
These briefs identify and discuss critical health system inputs and processes that have contributed to the implementation and expansion of community-based service delivery in Malawi, Nepal, and Senegal (forthcoming). They can help inform policy, program design, and implementation in other countries.
Community Health Systems Framework
This framework maps out a community service delivery system for family planning within a supportive political, socio-cultural environment. It highlights inputs, stakeholders, and other elements to consider when developing and strengthening community-based FP programs.
Photo credits: top banner by Kate Holt/MCSP; baby receiving vitamin drop JSI; people with sticky notes JSI; woman at clinic with smartphone Elmvh/GFDL via Wikimedia Commons; four women Erin Doheny/WEI