There is a growing consensus that community-based primary care is key to both strengthening health systems and ensuring preparedness for health emergencies and future pandemics. Robust and coordinated primary care is also critical to effectively manage shifting disease burdens and address the social determinants of health and well-being.    

Well-trained community health workers (CHWs) who are integrated into the health care system can play a central role in understanding and responding to the unique needs of diverse communities. They also play a vital role in delivering integrated services within primary care teams in the journey towards strengthened primary health care. Many countries, however, still lack strong CHW programmes, and where they exist, they are not always seen as an integral component of a national health care system. A reorientation and scaling of CHW training programmes could substantially improve healthcare effectiveness, access to services and readiness for health emergencies.  

For patients with life threatening conditions, the community has an important role in the early recognition of danger signs, delivery of first aid and initiation of movement to more definitive care. Member States have also highlighted this essential role via World Health Assembly Resolution 76.2 which emphasizes the critical role of community-level responders in strengthening integrated emergency, critical and operative care and also reflects the growing global recognition that timely first response at the community level is essential to reducing preventable deaths from acute conditions. 

Community First Aid Responders (CFARs) are trained laypersons who operate as part of an organized emergency care system—such as through community clinics, response organizations, or public safety agencies like police and fire services. Unlike bystanders with basic first aid knowledge, CFARs are formally certified and integrated into a structured response mechanism, allowing them to be mobilized to emergency scenes through pre-established systems. CFARs may include community members, first responders (e.g., police, firefighters), community health workers, healthcare assistants and other allied health professionals.

CFARs play a vital role in strengthening prehospital emergency services, particularly in settings where formal ambulance systems are limited or hard-to-reach. In areas affected by conflict or landmines, CFAR programs have been shown to significantly reduce preventable deaths by enabling timely and organized first response.