Community engagement: a health promotion guide for universal health coverage in the hands of the people 

World Health Organization

12 Nov 2021

Community engagement: a health promotion guide for universal health coverage in the hands of the people 

WHO has defined community engagement as “a process of developing relationships that enable stakeholders to work together to address health-related issues and promote well-being to achieve positive health impact and outcomes”. There are undeniable benefits to engaging communities in promoting health and wellbeing. At its core, community engagement enables changes in behaviour, environments, policies, programmes and practices within communities. There are different levels, depths and breadths of community engagement which determine the type and degree of involvement of the people. 

This guide is intended for change agents involved in community work at the level of communities and healthy settings.