SELF-CARE is the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health-care provider.
The purpose of this guidance is to develop a peoplecentred, evidence-based normative guideline that will support individuals, communities and countries with quality health services and self-care interventions, based on PHC (Primary Health Care) strategies, comprehensive essential service packages and people-centredness. The specific objectives of this guideline are to provide:
• evidence-based recommendations on key public health self-care interventions, including for advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), with a focus on vulnerable populations and settings with limited capacity and resources in the health system
• good practice statements on key programmatic, operational and service-delivery issues that need to be addressed to promote and increase safe and equitable access, uptake and use of self-care interventions, including for advancing SRHR.
