Forty years ago, in the heart of Soviet Central Asia, the world made a groundbreaking commitment to health. The Alma Ata Declaration set the stage for global health as we know it today. It reaffirmed health as a state of being that means more than just not being sick. It identified socioeconomic inequities as a cause of poor health, gave states responsibility for the health of their citizens, re-committed to health as a right and, finally, committed to first-level, frontline health care as the key to achieving health for all.
We’re not there yet. Economic inequities have gotten worse, not better. Governments continue to abdicate their responsibility for the health of their citizens. Front-line, primary health care remains inaccessible to far too many people.
Forty years later, the Global Conference on Primary Health Care re-committed to health for all, once again in Central Asia. Led by the World Health organization (WHO), the Ministry of Health Care of Kazakhstan, and UNICEF, the conference renewed the global commitment to primary health care to achieve universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. Read more via UN Dispatch
Why a new declaration?
While we have made great strides in health outcomes globally over the past 40 years, we face many ongoing challenges. A primary health care (PHC) approach is the most effective way to sustainably solve today’s health and health system challenges.
The PHC approach is foundational to achieving our shared global goals in Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The new declaration will renew political commitment to primary health care from Governments, non-governmental organizations, professional organizations, academia and global health and development organizations. It will be used to inform the UN General Assembly high-level meeting on UHC in 2019.
The new declaration is also a chance to commemorate the 1978 Alma-Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care, and reflect on how far we have come and the work that still lies ahead.
How it fits into the conference
Participants (including Heads of State, Ministers, non-governmental organizations, professional organizations, academics, young professionals and youth leaders, health practitioners, and UN partners) will be invited to endorse the declaration at the conference.
A web portal will also soon be available to allow individuals, organizations, and governments to express their support for the declaration and their operational commitment to improve primary health care in light of the new declaration.
See more via WHO