Strengthening primary healthcare, improving nutrition, supporting families, and promoting mental wellbeing Healthy communities are the foundation of resilient societies. Yet many communities continue to face barriers to quality primary healthcare, family planning, adequate nutrition, and mental health support. OHRI’s Community Health and Mental Wellbeing pillar takes an integrated approach bringing essential services closer to communities while strengthening local systems, improving preparedness, and ensuring that vulnerable people are not left behind. By 2036, OHRI aims to strengthen primary healthcare facilities, expand access to family planning, improve childhood nutrition, and establish community-based mental health and psychosocial support systems across its operational states.
Our 2036 Ambition
By 2036, OHRI will work to:
- Strengthen 40 Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities with essential equipment, staff training, and clinical mentorship by 2032.
- Reach 100,000 women with family planning services, supporting informed and voluntary reproductive health choices.
- Establish epidemic preparedness plans in 200 communities, including community-level preparedness and response mechanisms.
- Screen 500,000 children for acute malnutrition and strengthen early identification and referral of vulnerable children.
- Provide treatment with Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to 50,000 children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).
- Train 10,000 mothers in Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices to improve child nutrition and healthy growth.
- Train 500 community Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) facilitators by 2034.
- Deliver community-based MHPSS services to 50,000 people by 2036.
- Establish 100 community safe spaces providing listening services, group support, psychosocial activities, and referral assistance.
These targets are drawn directly from OHRI’s 2026–2036 Strategic Plan.
What We Will Do
1. Primary Healthcare & Family Planning
OHRI will support selected PHCs with essential equipment, staff training, clinical mentorship, and quality improvement approaches. Community health workers will also be supported to provide family planning counselling and connect community members with appropriate services.
Our approach will include community dialogues involving women, men, traditional leaders, religious leaders, and other community stakeholders to address misconceptions and strengthen support for voluntary family planning.
2. Community Epidemic Preparedness
OHRI will work with communities and health authorities to develop practical epidemic preparedness plans, strengthen community-level coordination, and promote readiness for outbreaks and other public health emergencies.
3. Nutrition & Child Health
OHRI will strengthen community-based nutrition screening and referral, particularly for children at risk of acute malnutrition. The programme will support treatment of severe acute malnutrition and promote appropriate infant and young child feeding practices through trained community workers and mothers.
4. Mental Health & Psychosocial Support
Mental wellbeing is an essential part of One Health and community resilience. OHRI will train community MHPSS facilitators who can provide basic psychosocial support, identify people requiring additional assistance, and facilitate referrals for more severe conditions.
The programme will also establish community safe spaces where people can access listening services, group activities, psychosocial support, and referral assistance in safe and accessible environments. OHRI’s plan specifically includes referral pathways linking community safe spaces with psychiatric services for severe cases.
5. Community Awareness & Health-Seeking Behaviour
OHRI will use community dialogues, health education, radio, community activities, and local leadership structures to improve knowledge, reduce stigma, encourage early care-seeking, and strengthen community ownership of health programmes.
Our Expected Impact by 2036
40 PHCs strengthened
100,000 women reached with family planning
200 communities with epidemic preparedness plans
500,000 children screened for malnutrition
50,000 SAM cases supported with RUTF
10,000 mothers trained in IYCF
500 MHPSS facilitators trained
50,000 people receiving MHPSS
100 community safe spaces established
Together, these interventions will help move communities from reactive healthcare toward prevention, early identification, timely support, and stronger local health systems.
Proposed Pillar 5 Fundraising Target: US$1.7 Million
This is a proposed fundraising target for Pillar 5, developed for programme planning and donor engagement. It is not a separate pillar budget published in the Strategic Plan; OHRI’s Strategic Plan estimates a total organisational resource requirement of US$9.8 million for 2026–2036.
Investment Areas
- Primary Healthcare Strengthening
- Family Planning & Reproductive Health
- Community Epidemic Preparedness
- Child Nutrition & Malnutrition Management
- Infant & Young Child Feeding
- Mental Health & Psychosocial Support
- Community Safe Spaces & Referral Systems
- Community Health Education & Mobilisation
Invest in Health. Strengthen Families. Build Resilient Communities.
Every investment in community health creates a wider ripple effect healthier children, stronger families, more prepared communities, and people better able to withstand health, environmental, and economic shocks.
Support OHRI to bring integrated health and wellbeing services closer to the communities that need them most.