Achieving health and wellbeing for all

What we do

Universal Health Coverage

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) aims to ensure that everyone, especially women and children and vulnerable people receives adequate affordable services. Cordaid contributes to UHC by improving access to quality health services. We do this in close cooperation with local health care providers, national authorities and international stakeholders. 

• Read more in our brochure ‘Universal Health Coverage‘
  • English brochure
  • French brochure
• Have a look at our campaign #HealthForAll.

To contribute to UHC, we focus our activities on the following thematic expertise areas:

1. Health System Strengthening through RBF

Result-based financing (RBF) and performance-based financing (PBF)  are our guiding approaches to strengthening health systems. We achieve this by linking payments directly to performance: health care providers receive payments after verification of their outputs,  in terms of agreed quantity, quality and client satisfaction indicators. RBF/PBF transforms the governance of health systems. The strategy introduces checks and balances, motivates staff, and involves government authorities. Communities are engaged in both health facility governance and in local health promotion.

• Read more in our brochure ‘Strengthening health systems through RBF‘
  • English brochure
  • French brochure
• Watch this video on RBF:

• Watch this video on RBF in the Central African Republic:

2. Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Cordaid supports the empowerment of young women and men, regardless of gender, age, religion, and sexual orientation, to make lifesaving choices related to their own Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).  How? By

• promoting informed decision-making and providing SRHR services, contraceptives, and medicines;   
• providing life skills, gender & sexuality education for young people    
• challenging ‘fake information’, taboos and harmful practices;  
• providing youth-friendly SRH services;  
• supporting one-stop centres for SGBV survivors; 
• creating an enabling environment to reduce barriers to fulfil SRHR and to reduce SGBV.  

Read more about our Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights services:

• Brochure ‘Delivering SRHR services in fragile contexts’
  • English brochure
  • French brochure
• Brochure ‘Working with religious leaders on sexual and reproductive health’ (English)
• Brochure ‘Jeune S3, a programme for, with and by the young people’
  • English brochure
  • French brochure
• Read more about JeuneS3 on this page.
• Watch this video about Jeune S3, a programme for, with and by young people:

3. Global Health, Global Access

By combining public awareness and policy influencing actions, we aim to restore the Dutch commitment to spend 0,7% of Gross National Income on Official Development Assistance, and 0,1% on Global Health. This will be achieved through substantial Dutch support for the Global Financing Facility, which aligns with the Dutch Government’s focus on vulnerable people and communities, such as women and girls.

• Read more about the Global Health, Global Access project on this page
• Brochure ‘The Global Financing Facility (GFF)‘ (English)

4. Mental Health and Psychosocial Support

Social determinants have a direct influence on the prevalence and severity of mental disorders. The global burden of these disorders is unlikely to be relieved by improved access to mental health treatments alone. There has to be a strong link between Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) to deal with huge unmet needs in individuals and communities, particularly settings affected by war and conflict. Cordaid focuses on such contexts and addresses individual and collective trauma. Health workers and social workers provide diagnosis and treatment, while community outreach workers are trained and support groups formed for follow-up support and re-integration.  

Other themes we focus on:   

Global health security 
Health crises and epidemics occur frequently in fragile countries.  Cordaid supports robust health systems by training health planners to be prepared for outbreaks and sudden demands for health personnel and supplies. 

Health and climate change 
Climate change has an impact on health outcomes, particularly those of populations in fragile countries.  Evidence on climate-sensitive diseases and epidemics such as malnutrition, dengue and malaria will have special attention in advocacy efforts. 

Data-driven decisions 
Our data-driven projects contribute to more transparency and accountability. Data analysis allows for constant monitoring of projects, for flexibility and more cost-effective and strategic allocation of resources. Strengthened data analytics informs better policies and practices leading to improved availability, accessibility, and quality health services, of which our partners and the population served stand to benefit.