The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) faces a pivotal moment in strengthening primary health care (PHC) as a foundation for Universal Health Coverage (UHC).1 Despite high-level support for PHC reforms, health systems in the region continue to grapple with multifaceted challenges. Demographic transitions have led to longer lifespans and a rising burden of noncommunicable diseases, even as some countries face humanitarian crises and large refugee populations that strain services. Meanwhile, populations have growing expectations for accessible, high-quality care and greater involvement in health decisions. Yet in many EMR settings, traditional PHC delivery has not kept pace with these changes. Care is often fragmented and episodic, bypassed in favor of hospitals due to weak referral systems, and historically underfunded relative to secondary care. Health workforce limitations exacerbate these issues: many centers are staffed by general practitioners without specialized family medicine training or team support, and shortages of nurses and community health workers leave heavy workloads unmanaged. Taken together, these challenges underscore that maintaining the status quo in primary care is no longer viable. There is a pressing need for innovative models of service delivery that can revitalize PHCs across the EMR, making them more people-centered, comprehensive, and effective. One promising solution gaining momentum is the family health team (FHT) approach, a model of primary care delivery through multidisciplinary teams.2 FHT is a shift from the traditional doctor-centric clinic toward a team-based, family-centric unit of care. Under the FHT model, each primary care team is composed of diverse health professionals, typically family physicians or general practitioners, nurses, and often allied staff such as dietitians, social workers, health educators, community health workers, and clerks. This team works collaboratively to serve the comprehensive health needs of a defined population of families across all ages and across the full spectrum of health issues, within a community setting. Crucially, patients are registered to a specific FHT and are seen by the same core team at each visit, fostering a continuous relationship. The FHT takes collective responsibility for the health of its enrolled families, proactively managing their care whether the visit is for a routine check-up, an acute illness, or a chronic disease follow-up. Instead of focusing only on curing episodic illnesses, the team’s mandate extends to keeping patients healthy through preventive care and health promotion. The care is organized around patients’ needs rather than around diseases or health system convenience. The FHT serves all family members, across the life course, from prenatal and maternal care, through childhood immunizations and illness, to adult and elder care. Preventive and promotive services (like vaccinations, screenings, lifestyle counseling) are given equal importance alongside curative services. International evidence demonstrates that FHTs significantly enhance primary care performance and health outcomes by delivering holistic, coordinated, and continuous care through multidisciplinary teams. FHTs improve access and continuity by offering flexible hours and dedicated provider teams, which foster trust and increase the use of preventive services. They excel in managing chronic diseases through regular monitoring and patient education, while also integrating preventive and promotive care into routine practice. FHTs strengthen care coordination, reduce unnecessary service use, and ensure smoother patient transitions. Most importantly, FHTs contribute to better health outcomes and greater equity by improving population health and reducing long-term costs. Adopting the FHT approach region-wide is an ambitious undertaking that requires thoughtful planning, policy support, and change management. Policymakers, health leaders, and stakeholders in the EMR should be aware of both the opportunities and the challenges in rolling out FHTs and take proactive steps to create an enabling environment. Key considerations for successfully implementing the FHT model include securing high-level political commitment and articulating a clear strategic vision that prioritizes PHC within national reform agendas. Establishing supportive policy and regulatory frameworks is essential, particularly for enabling empanelment and team-based service delivery. A trained, multidisciplinary workforce is critical, necessitating substantial investment in family medicine education and ongoing professional development, as championed by the WHO EMRO through its regional diploma programs. Transitioning to the FHT model also demands robust change management to foster cultural shifts and stakeholder buy-in across all health system levels. Sustained funding must be allocated to support human resources, infrastructure, and operational adjustments, including team workspaces and expanded service capacity. Finally, implementation should be guided by strong monitoring and evaluation systems that track utilization, outcomes, continuity, and patient satisfaction to drive continuous improvement and inform scale-up. Adopting the FHT model should not be seen as a radical experiment, but rather as the next logical step in PHC modernization, building on both global success stories and local innovations. Many countries worldwide have demonstrated that team-based primary care can reduce hospital use, improve quality of life, and reduce inequities. Within the EMR, early adopters like UNRWA’s refugee health services and Jordan’s ongoing PHC reforms show that the model can be adapted to the regional context and yield positive results.3 Notably, these examples illustrate that even in resource-constrained settings, reorienting care around family teams can optimize existing resources and make healthcare delivery more efficient and equitable. Each country will need to tailor the FHT approach to its context; there is no one-size-fits-all blueprint, but the core concept of multidisciplinary teams providing continuous care is universally applicable. For the policymakers, public health professionals, and academic leaders of the Eastern Mediterranean, the charge is clear. It is time to champion the FHT approach not as a pilot project here or there, but as a regional movement to transform primary care. This will require bold leadership, cross-sector collaboration, and perseverance in the face of inevitable obstacles. It will mean training a new generation of family physicians and nurses, updating policies, and reimagining how primary care clinics operate. These efforts, while challenging, carry the promise of fulfilling a vision where every family has a home in the health system, a dedicated team that accompanies them through life’s health journey. Such a vision aligns perfectly with the equity and solidarity at the heart of UHC and the Sustainable Development Goals. In conclusion, the FHT model represents more than a healthcare delivery innovation; it embodies a commitment to put families and communities at the center of health systems. Adopting and scaling up the FHT approach, Eastern Mediterranean countries can modernize their PHC in a way that addresses current gaps, anticipates future needs, and ensures that no one is left behind. The road to UHC and improved population health in our region runs through strong primary care, and FHTs are the vehicle to get us there. Now is the time to act on the evidence and set this transformation in motion, for a healthier and more secure future for all communities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Khader et al. (2025) studied this question.