A month after world leaders pledged to step up action on universal health coverage (UHC) at the United Nations General Assembly, 70 countries have come together to step up investment in healthcare primary schools by 2030.
The International Conference on “Primary Health Care Policy and Practice: Implementing for Better Outcomes” marked the 45th anniversary of the Declaration of Alma-Ata and 5th anniversary of the Astana Declaration on Primary Health Care. The conference, which brought together more than 600 policymakers and country health partners, took place in Kazakhstan, the birthplace of the historic declarations on primary health care (PHC). It was co-organized by the Government of Kazakhstan, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.
More than half of the world’s population is still not covered by essential health services. Two billion people face serious financial hardship due to health care costs. Participants called for more investment in primary health care, making the most of digital innovations, ensuring protection against catastrophic health spending and investing in the health and care workforce to address the projected shortage 10 million healthcare professionals by 2030.
“We have seen during the pandemic that it is the poor, the most vulnerable and the most marginalized who have paid the highest price. Equity cannot and must not wait,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, in his opening speech. “WHO is committed to working with governments, international financial institutions, partners, young people and civil society to radically change course, prioritizing action and investment in a health care approach. primary health. »
Additional investment of at least $200 billion to $328 billion per year, or about 3.3 percent of national gross domestic product, is needed to globally scale the PHC approach in low- and middle-income countries and to meet the commitments made under the second United Nations Political Declaration on UHC adopted on October 5, 2023.
Primary health care ensures good quality, more affordable and equitable access to essential health services. This is the most inclusive, effective and efficient path to UHC. Primary health care implementation requires strengthened collaboration to increase and improve political commitment, governance, financing and commitment. It also requires a paradigm shift from building health systems focused on treating disease to co-creating systems that support the health and well-being of all people, so that communities can be healthier and better protected against disease.
A radical scale-up of primary health care in countries could save more than 60 million lives. It can also generate 75% of projected health gains from the Sustainable Development Goals.
WHO’s work in primary health care
The objective of the WHO Special Program on PHC (SP-PHC) is to support countries in reorienting their health systems towards PHC and to ensure strong normative guidance for tracking progress in accountability and responsibility. ‘impact. The WHO Partnership for UHC is essential to implementing this work. With a network of more than 150 health policy advisors deployed in 125 countries and six WHO regional offices, the Partnership for UHC is WHO’s largest platform for international cooperation on UHC. The Partnership for UHC organized a pre-conference workshop in Astana on October 22, 2023, for more than 250 delegates from ministries of health, development partners and WHO country offices from around the world. The workshop provided an opportunity for countries to examine the links between primary health care and UHC, the political dynamics surrounding health system reforms and the success factors that enabled innovation and investment in primary health care for better implementation in the immediate future.
Through the Primary Health Care Accelerator of the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being (SDG3 GAP), WHO, UNICEF and partners are also working together and creating synergies across sectors , to better help countries meet their UHC commitments through primary health care. WHO and UNICEF have been strong partners in primary health care for decades. Together, WHO and UNICEF have developed the Operational Framework for PHC, providing a clear compass for action in any country on our planet.
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