Integrated community case management (ICCM) – an approach where community-based health workers are trained to identify, treat and refer children under-five with pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria – is increasingly being used across sub-Saharan Africa to supplement the gaps in basic healthcare provision. ICCM programmes have been endorsed by major international organisations and donors, and many African Ministries of Health as a key strategy for reducing child mortality. This learning paper describes Malaria Consortium’s approach to and experience of engaging local communities in integrated community case management (ICCM) in Uganda, Zambia and Mozambique.