Alma Ata Declaration

Alma-Ata Declaration

The Alma-Ata Declaration was a significant milestone in the field of public health, marking a shift in healthcare policy and setting new goals for global health. The declaration was adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care, held in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan (then the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic), in September 1978.

Background

The Alma-Ata Declaration emerged from a conference convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The conference brought together health experts, policy makers, and representatives from 134 countries and 67 international organizations to discuss and develop a strategy for improving health worldwide.

Principles

The declaration outlined eight essential components of primary health care:

1. Education concerning prevailing health problems and the methods of preventing and controlling them
2. Promotion of food supply and proper nutrition
3. An adequate supply of safe water and basic sanitation
4. Maternal and child health care, including family planning
5. Immunization against the major infectious diseases
6. Prevention and control of locally endemic diseases
7. Appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries
8. Provision of essential drugs

The declaration also emphasized the importance of community participation in health care decision-making processes, as well as the key role of the health sector in overall social and economic development.

Impact

The Alma-Ata Declaration has had a profound impact on global health policy and practice. It has influenced the development of health systems around the world, promoting the concept of primary health care as the key to achieving the goal of "Health for All" by the year 2000.

See also

• Health for All
• Primary health care
• World Health Organization
• United Nations Children's Fund