1. 1 | P a g e
ROLE OF FAITH BASED HEALTH SERVICES IN CONTRIBUTING TO
UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE IN AFRICA
AFRICA CHRISTIAN HEALTH ASSOCIATIONS’ PLATFORM - 7TH
BIENNIAL CONFERENCE; NAIROBI KENYA
DATES: FEBRUARY 23 – 26, 2015
Background
According to WHO, the goal of Universal Health Coverage is to ensure that all people obtain needed
health services without suffering financial hardship. This requires;
 A strong, efficient, well run health system
 A system of financing health services so that people do not suffer financial hardship when using
them
 Access to essential medicines and technologies to diagnose and treat medical problems
 Sufficient capacity of well trained, motivated health workers
 Recognition of the critical role played by all sectors in health
Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization notes that; "Universal Health
Coverage is the single most powerful concept that public health has to offer. It is inclusive, unifies
services and delivers them in a comprehensive and integrated way based on primary health care”
Universal Health Coverage is firmly based on the WHO declaration of health as a fundamental human
right and on the “Health for All” primary health care declaration of Alma Atta.
Reports from The Lancet, show evidence that strides are being made towards achievement of universal
health coverage and that in countries currently undertaking health reforms families will no longer be at
risk of having the cost of sickness ruin their lives in a few decades to come. Despite this progress, the
Lancet notes that there is little consensus about how low-income and lower-middle-income countries
should structure reforms aimed at moving towards universal coverage.
In addition, many low-income and lower-middle-income countries are faced with the hurdle of raising
sufficient prepaid funds for expansion of health coverage due to the high percentage of the workforce in
informal employment in these countries. Large informal economies make automatic payroll or income
tax deductions difficult to implement on a widespread basis as a result many of these countries increase
expenditure through a mix of prepayment mechanisms such as general taxes, earmarked taxes, payroll

2. 2 | P a g e
deductions, and (to a lesser extent) household premium contributions, and most have simultaneously
reduced reliance on private household payments at the point of service. Donor spending also accounts
for more than a quarter of funding in some of the low-income and lower-middle income countries.
The FBO Sector in Africa
Faith-based organizations (FBOs) and particularly Church-owned/Christian health facilities, play a key
role in providing health care in many parts of the world. According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), FBOs in Africa own and operate an estimated 30% to 70% of health care facilities (see Figure 1).
In addition, FBOs often serve remote and rural areas where the public sector has difficulty attracting and
retaining health workers yet in some countries FBOs continue to remain under recognized for their
immense contributions to the health sector and are often not integrated into planning and resource
allocations for national health systems, leading to service and system redundancies and gaps.
ACHAP therefore serves as a voice for many FBO service providers in Africa and exists to ensure joint
advocacy for its members on regional and global health sector initiatives and agenda such as the need
for universal health coverage particularly so with the current Ebola crisis that has stretched health
service delivery in affected countries.
Figure 1: Contribution of Christian Health Services in Selected African Countries

3. 3 | P a g e
Source: Africa Christian Health Associations Platform. February 2011. www.africachap.org.
Information collected by F. Dimmock (unpublished).
The African Christian Health Association Platform (ACHAP) was established in 2007 as an advocacy and
networking platform for improving knowledge sharing and joint learning among Christian Health
Associations (CHAs) and Church Health Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa. CHA networks have a long
history of working within developing countries to provide health care services to populations in need,
and they form the integral link between the Ministry of Health and the faith-based health care facilities.
Led by Executive Secretaries or General Secretaries, who constantly engage in national, regional and
global advocacy, CHAs are well represented within the ACHAP network. These CEOs have a great
influence at country level and are key partners in mobilization of the faith community participation in
health sector initiatives as they are responsible for 30 – 40% health care delivery at country level. In
some countries, like in Zambia, the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ) is the principal
recipient and manager of global funds, ACHAP provides the framework for a collaborative network with
a cohesive voice to advocate for equitable access to quality health care. ACHAP also provides
the knowledge and skills for member facilities to deliver better care for their clientele. Currently
ACHAP’s membership includes 34 CHAs in 26 countries. The general assembly; made up of these CHAs
meets every two years and has since held six biennial conferences and general assembly meetings since
inception of ACHAP. The 7th
biennial conference will take place in February 2015 in Kenya and will be
hosted by the Christian Health Association of Kenya (CHAK).

4. 4 | P a g e
7th
ACHAP Biennial Conference Theme
Members, partners and collaborators of the Africa Christian Health Associations’ Platform (ACHAP) will
focus on “The role of the faith based health services in contributing to universal health coverage in
Africa” during the upcoming 7th
ACHAP biennial conference that will be held in Nairobi; Kenya from
February 23 – 26, 2015.
Purpose:
The conference will involve highly participatory sessions, technical panels, break-out sessions, case
studies and testimonials and various exhibitions. There will be key speakers from WHO, private sector,
UNAIDS, government, WB, ADB, GF and other international institutions. Members will also have
opportunities to engage with various development partners and gain a broader understanding of the
current trends and progress towards universal health coverage at a global and regional level.
The conference objectives will include:
 Opportunity for ACHAP members to interact and gain an understanding on global perspectives
and updates on universal health coverage.
 Involvement of the FBO sector in national health sector reforms towards universal health
coverage
 Exchange and learning on country approaches, reforms and challenges in raising prepaid
revenues, pooling risk, and purchasing services
 FBO sector involvement in designing national health insurance models and integration with
health systems.
 Methodologies for measuring key outputs and outcomes of universal-coverage reform
 Members will hold its general assembly meeting and adopt its five-year strategic plan for 2015
- 2019
Outputs from Conference:
 At the end of the conference the ACHAP members will create a roadmap through a conference
statement of commitment and consensus on joint advocacy for universal health coverage in
Africa.
 The general assembly will be held and five-year strategic plan adopted.