At the beginning of this module we asked whether health systems are making best use of the social resources that civil society offers to health, or if health systems are meeting the public expectations which are channelled through civil society.

Civil society is still weakly integrated into health systems …

The discussion above of areas where health systems already include a role for civil society signals that the potential for the effective involvement of civil society is still unrealized, even while policy commitment exists. In part this traces back to the perceptions and skills gaps within health services that discourage groups and organizations outside the state being included in a more active way. Health leadership is essential to change this.