Understanding Primary Health Care (PHC) has become a focus of the World Health Organization (WHO), which recently launched a free, short online course on the subject through its learning platform.
Described by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as ‘one of the most misunderstood concepts in public health,’ PHC encompasses ‘action across sectors to address the social, economic, commercial and environmental determinants of health,’ according to remarks he delivered at a WHO plenary session in 2023.
Tedros noted that even within the public health community, PHC is sometimes misunderstood as simply referring to health service delivery at the local level. The WHO course seeks to address this knowledge gap by providing a basic understanding of the PHC approach and its role in strengthening health systems.
Three core components
TITTLED ‘The Primary Health Care Approach: A Short Course,’ the course covers PHC principles, its three core components, and evidence-informed strategies for strengthening PHC-oriented health systems. The content is based on WHO guidelines and frameworks on the subject.
The course requires approximately 1.5 hours to complete and consists of five core modules. According to WHO, the modules cover the fundamentals of PHC, evidence-informed strategies for its core components, and how health systems can adapt and apply the PHC approach.
The new course was adapted from an earlier program launched in 2024, ‘Strengthening Primary Health Care Leadership: Global Capacity Building Course.’
WHO emphasizes that a shared understanding of PHC can help translate the approach into improvements in health systems and health outcomes.
‘The strong consensus among WHO Member States to strengthen PHC-oriented health systems is an important opportunity to accelerate progress,’ said Dr. Kalipso Chalkidou, Director of the Department of Performance, Financing and Delivery.
Share responsibility
CHALKIDOU also emphasized that strengthening PHC is a shared responsibility that extends beyond health professionals and institutions.
‘This course is for everyone. Translating the PHC approach into our clinics, classrooms, communities, meeting rooms and workplaces-it is a shared responsibility. We all play a part in making PHC a reality,’ she said.
Those interested in learning more about Primary Health Care can access the course through the WHO Academy at whoacademy.org.