Unite Health systems with Community-led health services to deliver on UHC
SHOBHA SHUKLA - CNS
Community-led health services are critical cog-in-the-wheel to deliver on UHC
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We cannot deliver on universal health coverage (UHC) unless we reach the unreached people with standard health services - with equity and human dignity. Uniting Health systems with Community-led health services should be the new lens to look at UHC.
Despite mounting evidence of how key population or community-led health services have bridged the gap between public health system and those unreached, we are yet to optimally integrate community-led health service delivery model into public health system effectively, said Dr Nittaya Phanuphak.
Dr Nittaya Phanuphak is the Executive Director of Institute for HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI), Governing Council member of International AIDS Society (IAS), and Convener of 2nd Asia Pacific Conference on Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases.
Sterling examples of high impact key population or community-led health service deliver models come from the land of smiles - Thailand. HIV key populations continue to play a major role in delivering Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP for HIV prevention) to those who are at a heightened risk of HIV acquisition. Thailand has the largest PrEP rollout in Asia Pacific region, 80% of people using PrEP in Thailand receive it from a clinic led and staffed by members of the community that it serves. Key populations are groups of people who are disproportionately affected by HIV (which includes gay men and other men who have sex with men, transgender women and sex workers).
"On the ground, despite successes, we have faced challenges too over the last decade in our efforts to integrate community-led health service delivery model into the national public health system in Thailand. Key population lay providers are still the main providers and carers who are initiating and maintaining key population clients in PrEP services," said Dr Phanuphak.
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