This article describes the implantation of an innovative proposal for primary health care in squatter areas of Rio de Janeiro. Community health agents, each of whom is responsible for an area of approximately 2000 inhabitants, work within an operational model which includes continuous home visits and work with groups of women and expectant mothers. The basic actions, in this initial period, represent an extension of coverage of the Programme for Integral Health Care for Women and Children. The second part of the article discusses some of the polemical points related to this delivery model, which promotes both an improvement in health and social development.