Why are Community-Based Health Organizations important?
Community-Based Health Organizations (CBHO’s) provide integral and life saving services for many people who are unable to access traditional government health services. Many CBHO’s support a large proportion of BC’s underserved and marginalized populations. Due to the social determinants to health, many of these populations are unable to access traditional government health services and therefore are unable to manage their health without support from CBHO’s. Not only do these CBHO’s provide effective support to the HIV-positive community, they provide education, harm reduction and volunteer opportunities to the provincial community as a whole. Their efforts and positive impact in the community have immense value that can’t be quantitatively measured in dollars alone. CBHO’s are an exemplary example of cost effective public health delivery. Given their low waged, highly skilled work force and large volunteer component, HIV/AIDS directed CBHO’s are, dollar for dollar, the single most eff
