The function and impact of women's organizations on community development and rural primary health care

Abstract

When one explores the health problems of developing countries such as South Africa, the importance of primary health care becomes clear. The multiplicity of the health problems coupled with the lack of resources makes it imperative for government within the primary health care approach to call upon communities to participate in the solution thereof and community participation and development inherent in primary health care become the key objectives to realize and sustain a healthy living. However, without structures and processes to involve the community in their own health, the ideal of health for all embodied in the concept of primary health care will not be realized. One strategy for such participation is for primary health care workers to facilitate the organization of women into development-focused groups in the community.