Primary health care: making Alma-Ata a reality

The principles agreed at Alma-Ata 30 years ago apply just as much now as they did then. “Health for all” by the year 2000 was not achieved, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for 2015 will not be met in most low-income countries without substantial acceleration of primary health care. Factors have included insufficient political prioritisation of health, structural adjustment policies, poor governance, population growth, inadequate health systems, and scarce research and assessment on primary health care. We propose the following priorities for revitalising primary health care. Health-service infrastructure, including human resources and essential drugs, needs strengthening, and user fees should be removed for primary health-care services to improve use. A continuum of care for maternal, newborn, and child health services, including family planning, is needed. Evidence-based, integrated packages of community and primary curative and preventive care should be adapted to country contexts, assessed, and scaled up. Community participation and ...

Introducing The Lancet Global Health Commission on financing primary health care: putting people at the centre

The Lancet Global Health Commission on financing primary health care: putting people at the centre

International conference celebrating the 45th anniversary of Alma-Ata and 5th anniversary of Astana declarations

On 23 October WHO/Europe, together with UNICEF and the Government of Kazakhstan, is co-hosting an international conference to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Alma-Ata and 5th anniversary of Astana declarations on primary health care. The conference "Primary health care policy and practice: implementing for better results" will be an official side event of the 73rd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, in October 2023.

The Conference will:

• take stock of progress implementing the commitments in the Declaration of Astana on primary health care since 2018, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and demonstrate concrete results;
• shift focus from concepts to action by identifying implementation success factors based on country experiences; and
• identify policies and practices to future-proof primary health-care transformation for moving towards universal health coverage, for greater resilience in the face of emergencies, and better health and well-being. 

Structure ...

Amref International University 1st Primary Healthcare Congress

It has been 45 years since the landmark 1978 Alma-Ata Declaration, which defined Primary Health Care (PHC) as “essential healthcare based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost that the community and country can afford.”

The goal of PHC is to provide better health services for all, making it an integral part of a country’s health system and the central function for the community’s overall social and economic development. The aim is to achieve the highest possible level of health and well-being, ensuring equitable distribution and a sustainable healthy life without financial burden on patients.

Despite the promulgation of the PHC agenda after the Alma-Ata Declaration, its actualization has remained elusive.  The declaration outlined eight key elements and four pillars necessary to support the actualization of the ...