WUNRN
Please see 2 parts of this WUNRN
release on Primary Health Care - Gender.
The Lancet,
Current Issue, Volume 372,
Number 9642, 13
September 2008 |
A
RENAISSANCE IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
30 years ago, in
the midst of the Cold War, health experts and policy makers from 134 WHO member
states convened in the former USSR to attend a conference on international
primary health care. On Sept 12, 1978, the Alma-Ata
Declaration was signed, with the ambitious target of achieving “Health for
All by 2000”.
In 1978, 2000
million people were estimated to have no access to adequate health care. There
were vast inequalities between rich and poor countries, and between rich and
poor populations within countries. The Alma-Ata Declaration revolutionised the
world's interpretation of health. Its message was that inadequate and unequal
health care was unacceptable: economically, socially, and politically.
Unfortunately, the goal of “health for all”, while a rallying call to action,
was not met. Theories for this failure abound: the vision for primary health
care was politically unacceptable to some nations and so was marginalised;
emerging health threats took precedence (no one imagined the global disease
burden that HIV/AIDS would bring); and health priorities shifted (to the
Millennium Development Goals [MDGs]).
30 years on, what
is the relevance of the Alma-Ata Declaration in 2008? In short, primary health
care is now offering global health a lifeline. Progress towards the MDGs has
stalled. Weak health systems have restricted the success of efforts to improve
maternal, newborn, and child health, and to reduce the disease burden from
malaria and tuberculosis. New epidemics of chronic disease threaten to reverse
what small gains have been achieved. To get back on track, and to meet the MDGs
by 2015, countries need to strengthen their health systems through the
implementation of effective primary health care.
Now is the right
moment to proclaim the urgent need for a renaissance in primary health care.
The continuing relevance of this 30-year-old Declaration is remarkable. Many of
the challenges faced in 1978 remain, such as infectious diseases (eg, the
ongoing threat of H5N1 avian influenza and HIV/AIDS), political instability and
conflict (most recently seen in Iraq and Zimbabwe), and worsening poverty (the
World Bank last month estimated that 1·4 billion people now live in poverty).
In recognition of
this timely reawakening of interest in primary health care, this week's Lancet revisits, updates, and relaunches the key messages from
Alma-Ata. A series of eight papers begins with an analysis of modern primary
health care, and issues such as implementing cost-effective interventions in
low-resource settings and tackling the growing burden of chronic diseases. We
publish an analysis of individual country progress since 1978, with possible
lessons for those who have shown the least advance. Involvement of communities
in planning and implementation of health care (one of the main tenets of the
Alma-Ata Declaration) is explored in the context of maternal, newborn, and
child health, as are the roles of national policies and effective service
integration, all foundations of a successful primary health care service. The
final paper in the series looks to the future and provides a series of action
points to revitalise primary health care, both nationally and globally.
WHO's vision for
health—complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing—is the key to achieving
Alma-Ata's prime goal of “health for all”. This week's research articles also
focus on these three principles. Stephen Tollman and colleagues discuss the challenges
in managing chronic diseases in primary health care and the importance of
providing adequate services to ensure physical wellbeing. Atif Rahman and
co-workers tackle mental health in Bangladesh, with a psychological
intervention that can be delivered within communities to treat mothers with
perinatal depression. And the importance of social development is shown by Luis
Huicho and authors who present data from four countries highlighting the
importance of health workers with shorter durations of training in providing
vital care to people in low-resource settings.
Importantly, WHO,
under Margaret Chan's effective leadership and together with her regional
directors, has reaffirmed its commitment to primary health care. This
revisioning of the principles of Alma-Ata is welcome and illustrates a new
unity of purpose across global health institutions. Political progress is also
encouraging. Following the G8 meeting earlier this year, Japan has announced
its own commitment to lead international initiatives to strengthen health
systems. Such renewed global interest in primary health care is promising. The
need remains great and there are no shortcuts to success. But with refined
international relationships, new and emerging technologies, and 30 years of experience,
“health for all” need not be a dream buried in the past. The right to the
highest attainable standard of health can be a reality within our grasp.
______________________________________________________________________
WHO - World Health
Organization
DECLARATION OF ALMA-ATA -
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
The International Conference on
Primary Health Care, meeting in Alma-Ata this twelfth day of September in the
year Nineteen hundred and seventy-eight, expressing the need for urgent action
by all governments, all health and development workers, and the world community
to protect and promote the health of all the people of the world, hereby makes
the following Declaration:
I
The Conference strongly reaffirms that health, which is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, is a fundamental human right and that the attainment of the highest possible level of health is a most important world-wide social goal whose realization requires the action of many other social and economic sectors in addition to the health sector.
II
The existing gross inequality in the health status of the people particularly between developed and developing countries as well as within countries is politically, socially and economically unacceptable and is, therefore, of common concern to all countries.
III
Economic and social development, based on a New International Economic Order, is of basic importance to the fullest attainment of health for all and to the reduction of the gap between the health status of the developing and developed countries. The promotion and protection of the health of the people is essential to sustained economic and social development and contributes to a better quality of life and to world peace.
IV
The people have the right and duty to participate individually and collectively in the planning and implementation of their health care.
V
Governments have a responsibility for the health of their people which can be fulfilled only by the provision of adequate health and social measures. A main social target of governments, international organizations and the whole world community in the coming decades should be the attainment by all peoples of the world by the year 2000 of a level of health that will permit them to lead a socially and economically productive life. Primary health care is the key to attaining this target as part of development in the spirit of social justice.
VI
Primary health care is essential health care 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 to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination. It forms an integral part both of the country's health system, of which it is the central function and main focus, and of the overall social and economic development of the community. It is the first level of contact of individuals, the family and community with the national health system bringing health care as close as possible to where people live and work, and constitutes the first element of a continuing health care process.
VII
Primary health care:
- reflects and evolves from the economic conditions and sociocultural and political characteristics of the country and its communities and is based on the application of the relevant results of social, biomedical and health services research and public health experience;
- addresses the main health problems in the community, providing promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services accordingly;
- includes at least: education concerning prevailing health problems and the methods of preventing and controlling them; promotion of food supply and proper nutrition; an adequate supply of safe water and basic sanitation; maternal and child health care, including family planning; immunization against the major infectious diseases; prevention and control of locally endemic diseases; appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries; and provision of essential drugs;
- involves, in addition to the health sector, all related sectors and aspects of national and community development, in particular agriculture, animal husbandry, food, industry, education, housing, public works, communications and other sectors; and demands the coordinated efforts of all those sectors;
- requires and promotes maximum community and individual self-reliance and participation in the planning, organization, operation and control of primary health care, making fullest use of local, national and other available resources; and to this end develops through appropriate education the ability of communities to participate;
- should be sustained by integrated, functional and mutually supportive referral systems, leading to the progressive improvement of comprehensive health care for all, and giving priority to those most in need;
- relies, at local and referral levels, on health workers, including physicians, nurses, midwives, auxiliaries and community workers as applicable, as well as traditional practitioners as needed, suitably trained socially and technically to work as a health team and to respond to the expressed health needs of the community.
VIII
All governments should formulate national policies, strategies and plans of action to launch and sustain primary health care as part of a comprehensive national health system and in coordination with other sectors. To this end, it will be necessary to exercise political will, to mobilize the country's resources and to use available external resources rationally.
IX
All countries should cooperate in a spirit of partnership and service to ensure primary health care for all people since the attainment of health by people in any one country directly concerns and benefits every other country. In this context the joint WHO/UNICEF report on primary health care constitutes a solid basis for the further development and operation of primary health care throughout the world.
X
An acceptable level of health for all the people of the world by the year 2000 can be attained through a fuller and better use of the world's resources, a considerable part of which is now spent on armaments and military conflicts. A genuine policy of independence, peace, détente and disarmament could and should release additional resources that could well be devoted to peaceful aims and in particular to the acceleration of social and economic development of which primary health care, as an essential part, should be allotted its proper share.
The International Conference on Primary Health Care calls for urgent and effective national and international action to develop and implement primary health care throughout the world and particularly in developing countries in a spirit of technical cooperation and in keeping with a New International Economic Order. It urges governments, WHO and UNICEF, and other international organizations, as well as multilateral and bilateral agencies, non-governmental organizations, funding agencies, all health workers and the whole world community to support national and international commitment to primary health care and to channel increased technical and financial support to it, particularly in developing countries. The Conference calls on all the aforementioned to collaborate in introducing, developing and maintaining primary health care in accordance with the spirit and content of this Declaration.
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