In 1978, the Declaration of Alma-Ata recognised the

importance of primary health care to

1. reducing health inequalities and social injustice
2. provide education concerning prevailing health problems
and the methods of preventing and controlling them;
3. promotion of food supply and proper nutrition
4. an adequate supply of safe water and basic sanitation
5. maternal and child health care, including family planning
6. Immunization against the major infectious diseases
7. prevention and control of locally endemic diseases
8. appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries
9. provision of essential drugs‫ز‬

Reasons for the failure of the Alma-Ata1978:

 lack of specificity – with respect to conditions, target

populations, implementation strategies and monitoring –
that such little progress has been made in scaling up
primary healthcare services.
 scarcity of human resources for health
 a vicious cycle of socioeconomic inequities hindering
community empowerment and participation, resulting in
inadequate attention to community needs
 poor inter-sectoral collaboration across health, education,
agriculture, housing and public works to reduce poverty
and advance development