**7.6 Scaling up the CHC model**

Schools are an expected resource in every village, but this was not always the case. A few decades ago, education was recognized as a fundamental human right. Despite the huge challenge, Ministries of Education throughout Africa have almost succeeded in providing schools in most villages and as a result literacy is increasing annually. CHCs provide an informal *adult* education system filling in the gaps that remain in community knowledge and ensuring that communities are health conscious and coordinated to manage their health challenges. Scaling up CHCs to every village takes time, but as there is little infrastructure needed, it is comparatively cost-effective relative to the buildings needed by schools. If Rwanda has been able to coordinate community efforts through CHC in a national structure leading from Village to the President, this can surely be emulated by other countries.

Is scaling up the CHC model possible in those countries that have already missed their MDG targets and are now being challenged to meet the SDGs as well? We suggest that it is indeed possible through three distinct stages: Advocacy, Policy and Program.

