Primary Health Care (PHC) has been the most important global health policy ever since the principles of PHC were first outlined in the Declaration of Alma-Ata in 1978, a seminal milestone in global health. Forty years later, global leaders ratified the Declaration of Astana at the Global Conference on Primary Health Care in 2018. WHO considers investments in PHC as a central pillar in the efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage particularly in low- and middle-income countries. However, the Primary Health Care discussion has suffered the same weakness as that of Universal Health Coverage: the concepts are ambitious but pretty vague and it has not been clear which prioritized investments are required to facilitate implementation at a price tag that appears realistic for both domestic and international funding.
Therefore the Joep Lange Institute initiated a series of consultations with international organizations, civil society and governments to address this challenge and formed a consortium to develop a concept paper for an investment case for PHC. The consortium has consisted of the Joep Lange Institute, SEEK Development and Duke University and received financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Consultations are now going on to discuss the recommendations of the report with international partners.
Click the image links to the full paper and a short summary:
