The History of Primary Health Care

In September 1978, representatives of many nations gathered to propose a plan that would keep as many people as possible healthy worldwide. During this year, primary health care emerged, with the ultimate goal of better health for all.

History

• In the early 1970s, the health care approach consisted of so-called vertical programs, on which all efforts were concentrated on eliminating specific diseases, specially smallpox and malaria. The only access to health care for many people living in poor areas of the country consisted of vaccines and spray guns loaded with DDT to kill mosquitoes as prevention against malaria.

Change Begins

• In the 1960s, China developed a health care system which emphasized preventive, rather than curative, care. China's program consisted of rural medical services by "barefoot doctors." These "doctors" were individuals with some general education, most of them in their 20s, who were selected to receive a three-month to six-month intensive course in medical training. They lived in the same village in which they worked. Their proximity to patients made it easier for them to provide quicker help. In 1974, in order to obtain recognition for the health care model, China began pressing the United Nations for a conference on primary health care.

Declaration of Alma-Ata

• In September 1978, an international conference was held in the city of Alma-Ata, which was the capital of the Soviet Republic of Kazakhsta. During this conference, the Declaration of Alma-Ata and the primary health care model emerged. This declaration states that health is a human right and that attaining this health should be the primary goal of every government. One of the main themes of this declaration was the involvement of community health workers and traditional healers in the new health system.