2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

339527
Community-based Health Systems Strengthening as a Component of Universal Health Coverage in Liberia


Tuesday, November 3, 2015 : 5:10 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Patricia Kamara, RN, Christian Health Association of Liberai, Monrovia, Liberia
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
The Christian Health Association of Liberia (CHAL) promotes universal health coverage (UHC) as a key strategy of improving access to key health services for vulnerable communities. 30% of the rural population of Liberia is served primarily through CHAL’s network of 58 member health institutions. CHAL’s community-based approach builds local health systems, equipping community health workers with tools and the structure to tackle persistent public health issues in Liberia. CHAL implements programs in the technical areas of capacity building (training of health workers and administrators); advocacy at the national level; community networks, linkages and partnerships with church hospitals, religious leaders and the health workforce; service delivery (bed net distribution and procurement of essential medicines); monitoring and evaluation systems and knowledge management (sharing of lessons learned from the organization’s work during the 2014 Ebola outbreak). CHAL’s community-based approach to program delivery contributes to the effectiveness and achievement of health service delivery in Liberia.

Learning Areas:

Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Provision of health care to the public
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Discuss how strengthening community systems has contributed to UHC and highlight the role of FBOs in UHC.

Keyword(s): Rural Health, Faith Community

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Executive Director of the Christian Health Association of Liberia, a faith-based NGO which has worked in creating universal coverage for health services, especially in rural areas where government provided health services are difficult to access.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4397.2: Building Health Systems through the Faith-Based and Public Sectors to Advance Universal Health Coverage in Low-Resource and Post-Conflict Settings