Community Based Health Care Strategy 2015-2020.

The Community Based Health Care Strategy (CBHC) has been developed within the framework of the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) national vision, mission and values. The vision of the Strategy is: working with communities on primary health care to benefit all Afghans close to their homes throughout the country. The mission of the community based health programme is to contribute to the reduction of morbidity and mortality rates, particularly among mothers and children. Through implementing evidence based health activities with the community and promoting a healthy lifestyle through community engagement and empowerment. While following all laws and regulations of the government of Afghanistan, the implementation of this strategy will respect the following guiding principles: Treating all people with dignity and respect, considering a healthy life to be a basic right of every individual. Ensuring equitable access to and provision of basic, essential, good quality health services for all individuals independent of gender, socio-economic status, age, race, religion and ethnicity. Ensuring optimum level of health for both men and women in full consideration of gender equality.
Its working principles are: Giving priority to groups in greatest need especially women, children, the disabled, and those living in poverty; Improving the effectiveness, efficiency, and affordability of health services at the community level; Promoting healthy lifestyles and discouraging practices that are proved to be harmful to health of the individuals and community; Making evidence-based decisions through enhancing community engagement and ownership to better understand the health needs of the communities to ensure relevant, acceptable, user friendly health services and activities; Recognizing health workers for their high quality performance; Improving the quality of community based health programmes and services that respond to client needs, and ensure continuity of care, conform to standards and protocols, and are continually being improved; Creating sustainability services that are supported and owned by the community; Strengthening partnership and collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders both within the health sector and with other sectors at the community level.
The goal of the CBHC Department is to make a significant contribution to the mission of the Ministry of Public Health to improve the health and nutrition status of the people of Afghanistan. This will be achieved through community based support of the basic package of health services and other community approaches mainly focusing on the two most vulnerable groups, women of child bearing age and children under 5 years of age, especially in under-served areas of the country. The objectives of the CBHC are: 1. To scale up CBHC services and initiatives to 90% of uncovered and underserved areas in rural setting and 60% of poor urban and nomad population by 2020; 2. To improve the quality of community based primary health care services at household level; 3. To empower communities to identify their own health needs and take initiatives to solve identified health problems; 4. To enhance the governance of CBHC programmes at all levels of health system.