Support for the WHO Resolution on Social Participation

T.C. (Tim) olde Hartman; Tom Vansaghi

doi:10.1370/afm.250098

The North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) is dedicated to advancing the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Resolution on Social Participation for Universal Health Coverage, Health, and Well-Being. This groundbreaking resolution, approved by the WHO on June 1, 2024, emphasizes how essential it is to involve individuals, families, and communities in shaping health decisions—something NAPCRG has championed for years. At NAPCRG, we’re all about nurturing researchers and advancing people-centered, equitable health care. The WHO resolution reinforces why our work matters and why we must continue amplifying the voices of underrepresented and marginalized groups in health research. It’s a call to action for us to keep pushing forward.

This reflects our ongoing commitment to participatory research, promoting health equity, and building strong collaborative networks. These aren’t new ideas for us—they’re woven into the fabric of NAPCRG. But this resolution gives us a renewed opportunity to align our efforts with a global movement toward universal health coverage. Recently, NAPCRG drafted a statement of support for the resolution. The NAPCRG Board of Directors approved the statement of support on February 7, 2025 and it can be found at the following link: https://napcrg.org/aboutus/bylaws policiesstatements/.

Considering this resolution, NAPCRG reaffirms its dedication to the following goals:

Advancing Participatory Research

We will continue to support research methodologies that actively engage women and all those in vulnerable and/or marginalized situations (eg, persons with disabilities and Indigenous peoples) as active core participants, ensuring that their insights and experiences inform person-centered health care practices and policies.

Promoting Health Equity

Our initiatives will focus on reducing health disparities by engaging the whole of society including: not-for-profit, non-governmental, or charitable organizations, local communities, patients, health care clinicians and care workers in the health sector, youth and volunteers in the research process, thereby ensuring that health interventions are co-created and accessible so that they are developed with cultural humility, gender equity, and spiritual humility.

Enhancing Collaborative Networks

We aim to build upon and strengthen our partnerships with international health organizations, health care practitioners, policy makers, and communities to promote social participation as a cornerstone of health system development.

Global problems need global teamwork. NAPCRG’s partnerships with international health organizations, policy makers, and communities are crucial for advancing social participation in health. By working together, we share ideas, learn from each other, and find innovative solutions to common challenges. By embracing the principles outlined in the WHO resolution, NAPCRG is committed to contributing to the global movement towards health systems that are inclusive, participatory, and respond to the needs of all people.