AbstractsMedical & Health Science

Includes abstract. The principles of Primary Health Care guided health system transformation in South Africa where community health committees represent formal structures for participation in health. While there is evidence to suggest that participation can assist the progressive realization of the right to health, this link is not well established in the literature and Southern African studies underscore a serious deficit in the implementation of meaningful community participation. The present study used multiple methods to explore the relationship between participation and the right to health and to draw lessons on best practice for community participation from three health committees in South Africa’s Western Cape Province.