The Global Conference on Primary Health Care:
|
Endorsement Form
On October 25-26, 2018, the Government of Kazakhstan, WHO and UNICEF with co-host the Global Conference on Primary Health Care. Participants of the conference will be invited to endorse the Astana Declaration on Primary Health Care: From Alma-Ata towards Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Although these objectives are shared in the official Astana Declaration (version 16th August 2018) it is concerning that the latter frames PHC primarily as a foundation of UHC. PHC, is broader and indeed subsumes UHC, which is, in many countries, being implemented by private health insurance companies and aggravating health inequities. Additionally, the official declaration (version 16th August) is insufficiently clear that governments have primary responsibility for health service delivery and for ensuring that social determinants maximise health and equity. While the official declaration recognises “that people in all parts of the world have unaddressed health needs and inequities persist”, it does not acknowledge that health gains in some places are being reversed. These issues and their fundamental economic and political causes which are responsible for widening inequalities worldwide need to be more explicitly stated. These are some of the reasons why People’s Health Movement and its constituency feel it necessary to elaborate an Alternative Declaration.
Although these objectives are shared in the official Astana Declaration (version 16th August 2018) it is concerning that the latter frames PHC primarily as a foundation of UHC. PHC, is broader and indeed subsumes UHC, which is, in many countries, being implemented by private health insurance companies and aggravating health inequities. Additionally, the official declaration (version 16th August) is insufficiently clear that governments have primary responsibility for health service delivery and for ensuring that social determinants maximise health and equity. While the official declaration recognises “that people in all parts of the world have unaddressed health needs and inequities persist”, it does not acknowledge that health gains in some places are being reversed. These issues and their fundamental economic and political causes which are responsible for widening inequalities worldwide need to be more explicitly stated. These are some of the reasons why People’s Health Movement and its constituency feel it necessary to elaborate an Alternative Declaration.
The statement is a re-affirmation of the Alma Ata declaration, which to PHM and others remains the ultimate declaration on primary health care; the principles are clear and remain relevant. This statement can be seen as a re-commitment to the Alma Ata declaration of 1978: a number of points have been drawn out from the Alma Ata Declaration; with a few additions relevant to the current context and challenges.
Read the full statement.