Quality health services require complex systems and processes to work together in harmony. Here, we explore various elements of the DHS that impact the quality of health services with an emphasis on successful models from across the country.

Leadership in South Africa’s DHS requires motivating and coordinating local providers while facilitating whole-of-government and whole-of-society collaboration. Here, we explore how to strengthen and conceptualise leadership without exercising traditional command-and-control managerial authority.

Quality healthcare in South Africa requires the careful management of limited financial resources. Here, we look at strategies for managing those resources in innovative ways.

To address the complex frontline realities of South African communities, the district health system must continually monitor, evaluate and learn (MEL) about what is working, what is not, and how needs are changing. Here, we explore innovative approaches to MEL across the health system.

Across South Africa, district health system leaders are imagining innovative ways to understand community health needs and integrate community voices and priorities into primary health care and public health through community-oriented primary care (COPC). Here, we explore COPC approaches implemented across South Africa.

The District Health System (DHS) is the cornerstone of an equitable, primary healthcare-led system in South Africa. Here, we capture the evolution of the DHS from its early days post-1994 to the present.