Supporting strong PHC during the pandemic

Addressing ongoing global health challenges and providing people with essential services—while responding to and recovering from the pandemic—will require strong and resilient health systems, especially at the PHC level, that can address people’s diverse health needs at every stage of life. Learn how PHC systems can be leveraged in these efforts via Telehealth Services, Safety & Facility Operations, and Community-Based Services.

As countries grapple with COVID-19, strong primary health care can provide a critical first line of defense and response to keep people safe and healthy. PHC systems can help diagnose, track and stop the spread of local outbreaks while providing essential health services to communities.

Strong PHC can help countries shape an effective, equitable approach to COVID-19 vaccination. Leveraging and strengthening PHC will help meet communities’ needs now and build resilience for the future.

This document provides members of the PHC community with foundational messages to use in communications and advocacy efforts about how and why countries, global decision-makers and donors can – and must – center PHC as a key component of the COVID-19 response in the weeks and months to come.

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a deadly ripple effect on the health of people around the world, threatening the significant gains in health and human progress made since the turn of millennium. This toolkit provides social media language and graphics to highlight the need for addressing ongoing global health challenges and providing people with essential services during the pandemic.

UHC2030 launched its updated vision document for health systems strengthening, building on the recent statement from UHC2030 co-chairs which called on world leaders to remember their UHC commitments as they respond to COVID-19. The purpose of this updated joint vision is to bring partners together around common messages on public health actions as ‘step zero’ of UHC, so health systems better support health security and UHC.