Primary Care in Proximity

At least half the world still lacks access to essential health services. Models such as task sharing, pharmacy-led care, chatbots, telehealth, and virtual care can help bring health care services and products closer to home.

31%

of caregivers in LMICs sought care from pharmacies and drug vendors for childhood malaria

82%

of people in Sub-Saharan Africa have a mobile cellular subscription

Traditional approaches to primary health care are no longer fit-for-purpose in many contexts.

Recent developments in technology enable new approaches to improve health and well-being by bringing health care closer to home, including the incorporation of self-care interventions in health systems and making services more available in the community through shifting specific services to less specialized health cadres. The potential to make health care more accessible and affordable by improving people’s engagement in health offers a promising approach to progress towards universal health coverage.

We support efforts to bring care closer to people.

Salient has been working on multiple fronts to improve the proximity of care, including extending provider payment mechanisms to non-traditional community health workers, developing strategies to engage drug shops and pharmacies in care, and identifying policies and regulatory changes to accelerate self-care in sexual and reproductive health.

Our work has involved engaging with community health workers, drug shops, and pharmacies in improving health services and products provision, as well as on health topics such as family planning, reproductive health, and nutrition.

OUR PARTNERS INCLUDE

Featured Projects

Policy impact analysis: opportunities to advance self-care

Analysing national policies and guidelines in three countries to shape future investments in demedicalisation for sexual and reproductive health care with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation

Extending payment mechanisms: PBF for community-level providers

Designing a program to extend the Government of Burundi’s performance-based financing scheme to peer leaders in communities with the World Bank

Investment strategy: drug shops as critical access points for contraceptives

Developing an investment strategy to engage drug shops in provision of contraceptives in Kinshasa with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Investment strategy: accrediting PPMVs to ensure contraceptive access

Designing a strategy to engage the private sector to accelerate access to contraception and primary care in Nigeria with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Program design: engaging drug shops for adolescent care

Designing innovative programs to engage drug shops in SRH for adolescents in Uganda and DRC with PATH

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