Strengthening health systems in communities: the experiences of Amref Health Africa

Abstract

Africa is grappling with a set of challenges including; a multiple disease burden, malnutrition, illiteracy, environmental degradation, inequality, inequity, debilitating poverty situation and governance of the available resources among others. For sustainable development to be realised so that Africa breaks out of the vicious cycle of disease, it is important for the world and Africa in particular to seek for evidenced based solutions. In response to this need Amref Health Africa in its ten-year corporate strategy for 2007-2017 focused on “Putting African Communities First” with the goal of advancing health through catalysing an evidence-based movement aimed at reducing the gap between communities and the rest of the health system. The organization would partly implement this component of the strategy by use of health systems research approach for policy and practice.