Agincourt : A district health demonstration site

The University of the Witwatersrands Health Systems Development Unit (HSDU), in partnership with the then homeland health service, established the Agincourt demonstration sub-district in 1992. This was closely linked to the Bushbuckridge District Health Systems Initiative, addressing the decentralisation of rural health services. Today the Agincourt site is increasingly being used as a model by those involved in the task of transforming South Africas health care system, especially in rural areas. It is also providing the basis for a programme of advanced communitybased research.

What follows in this booklet is a detailed picture of developments and activities at Agincourt. Beginning with those considerations which led to the choice of the site, this booklet describes all aspects of a comprehensive health care system which is developing in a typical rural sub-district. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of information for planning, the role of the community and that of the local health care services, as well as the necessary interaction between these players.