03 Sep 2023

African health ministers have endorsed the regional strategy on strengthening community protection and resilience: Regional Strategy for Community Engagement 2023-2030 in the WHO African region.

The strategy will support member states in engaging communities for healthier and more resilient populations by fostering relationships of trust between stakeholders to promote health, minimise risk and mitigate the consequences of public health events. The strategy highlights systematic community engagement as a core component for successful implementation and all member states welcomed and supported the strategy.

The strategy also speaks to health care systems that are shaped by multiple factors including communities, as an integral component of the health system in ongoing efforts aimed at developing more responsive, equitable and effective health policies for universal health coverage and health security.

Botswana re-affirmed its commitment to the development and sustaining responsive, equitable and effective policies for universal health coverage and health security.

Presenting during the just-ended 73^rd Session of WHO Regional Committee for Africa, in Gaborone, the Assistant Minister of Health, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe pointed out that Botswana’s health system had been rooted on the Primary Health Care (PHC) post the Alma Ata Declaration. He said unfortunately, due to various emerging diseases and disease trends, some progress was lost, adding that in recognising that, government embarked on an exercise to revitalize people-oriented PHC.

He pointed out that as articulated under the justification as well as the first prioritised action and intervention (Leveraging community structures), engaging communities promoted equity and social justice, as well as leading to early detection of diseases.

Mr Lelatisitswe said in the 1980’s, Botswana established community structures including Village Health Committees (VHC), whose mandate was to mobilise and engage communities in promoting health and wellbeing.

 He said the structures were still pivotal in supporting PHC, community engagement and inter-sectoral collaboration.

“This model is pivotal in the fight against diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Malaria,” he said, adding that the community health structures were part of the community governance structures and enjoyed support from the community leadership.

Moreover, he said Botswana had embarked on an exercise to map existing community structures and develop disease profiles for different communities in an effort to re- strengthen community participation in healthcare. He said the exercise included engagement of community health workers and improving coordination of all the civil society and private sector that provide services in the community.

Mr Lelatisitswe further pointed out that Botswana welcomed Priority 3 on research, monitoring, evaluation and documenting lessons, adding that they were vital for ensuring evidence-based effective community interventions. He nevertheless said more still needed to be done in Botswana especially on research, ‘as the country continues to generate accessible and high-quality data on public health and health systems, as well as the cross-sector data to assess the impact on health and wellbeing’.

Representatives from various African countries supported the strategy indicating that getting the community engaged was an interface between health, development and humanitarian action, as it prioritised enhanced research, monitoring and evaluation.

 Delegates also concurred that the African region faced disproportionately high disease burden, such as the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, recurring health emergencies, natural disasters and humanitarian crisis put pressure on the fragile health systems.

 They in one pointed out that health inequities affected vulnerable populations due to various determinants and therefore it was important to have action from the whole of society and sectors beyond health.

All representatives of countries endorsed the strategy saying the community was a central part to development be it in economic , culture, as well as health aspect saying for that reason, community engagement was a must. Ends