Abstract

For nearly 40 years, family medicine has been providing guiding principles in major global health programs. This article has two aims: (1) to review past major global health campaigns with a specific focus on the roles of family medicine to illustrate its relevance in global health, and (2) to address practical approaches to attain health, which nurture sustainability of local health resources and resilience of the community. Regardless of the differences in the goals of past global health campaigns, three key approaches have emerged as essential interventions in the field based on family medicine principles, the so-called six Cs. The key approaches are (1) to protect families, (2) to train health care providers, and (3) to empower people. Family medicine continues to be a powerful tool to improve people’s health in our own communities and in global health practice.