The WHO Special Programme on Primary Health Care is pleased to announce the release of the Primary Health Care for Global Health Initiatives (PHC-GHI) Toolbox 2.0, a resource designed to align Global Health Initiatives (GHI) funding with national health strategies and primary health care (PHC) principles. This toolbox aims to address fragmentation and optimize the use of investments in responding to the global call for a radical reorientation of health systems towards PHC.
Early implementation of the prototype PHC-GHI Toolbox in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (2021–2022) provided insights on the applicability of the resources and validated its content. During that period, users noted it would assist the application of a PHC approach to programme planning for both communicable and noncommunicable diseases. Moreover, feedback received indicated there is a need to make the Toolbox more user friendly by streamlining the components and improving the navigation options. Their inputs led to inclusion of additional country and regional level resources to enable tailoring of PHC-oriented GHI support to national context, as well as examples of the specific uses of the Toolbox for the 2.0 version.
Key features of the PHC-GHI Toolbox 2.0:
- Practical support: offers guidance for WHO staff, Ministry of Health personnel, GHI focal points, and others involved in GHI proposals, promoting open communication.
- Analytical approach: encourages critical analysis of health systems through insightful questions to reorient them using PHC principles.
- Resource organization: consolidates existing technical resources and showcases real-life examples of applying the PHC approach to GHI-funded activities.
- Adaptability: adaptable to various contexts, supporting training, advocacy, and communication around the PHC approach.
- Inclusive development: developed through a consultative process with global, regional, and country-level stakeholders, co-developed and piloted in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region.
Uses of the PHC-GHI Toolbox:
The Toolbox is designed to be used in three ways:
- Development or review of national health plans: provides guidance and resources for developing or reviewing national health plans with a PHC focus fostering GHI alignment.
- Planning, implementation, and monitoring of GHI-funded activities: assists in aligning GHI-funded activities with PHC principles and national strategies.
- Orientation of plans for universal health coverage (UHC): supports the integration of PHC principles in plans, strategies, and activities within national health compacts for UHC.
The PHC-GHI Toolbox is an invaluable resource for stakeholders aiming to strengthen PHC and maximize the impact of GHI investments in health systems globally. This launch follows the recent publication of a journal article detailing the toolbox's design and implementation in BMC Global and Public Health.
Further implementation, use and refinement of the PHC-GHI Toolbox is being taken forward by a 3-level WHO working group that has been meeting regularly since May 2024.
This Toolkit was produced with funding support from the UHC Partnership which includes contributions from Belgium, Canada, the European Union, France, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
