Primary Health Care

Primary healthcare (PHC) refers to "essential health care" that is based on "scientifically
sound and socially acceptable methods and technology, which make universal health care
accessible to all individuals and families in a community. It is through their full participation and
at a cost that the community and the country can afford to maintain at every stage of their
development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination".

(WHO,1978)

In other words, PHC is an approach to health beyond the traditional health care system
that focuses on health equity-producing social policy.PHC includes all areas that play a role in
addressing the inter-related determinants of health such as income and social health status, Social
environment, Employment/working conditions, Culture, Physical factors, Social support
networks, Prenatal/ Early Childhood Experiences, Level of education. Thus, primary healthcare
and public health measures, taken together, may be considered as the cornerstones of universal
health systems.

This ideal model of primary healthcare was adopted in the declaration of the International
Conference on Primary Health Care held in Alma Ata, Kazakhstan in 1978 (known as the "Alma
Ata Declaration"), and became a core concept of the World Health Organization's goal of Health
for all. The Alma-Ata Conference mobilized a "Primary Health Care movement" of professionals
and institutions, governments and civil society organizations, researchers and grassroots
organizations that undertook to tackle the "politically, socially and economically unacceptable"
health inequalities in all countries.

Elements of Primary Health care

 Health education
 Water and sanitation
 Nutrition
 Maternal and child health
 Immunization
 Prevention of endemic diseases
 Treatment
 Drug availability
Goal of Primary Health Care

The ultimate goal of primary healthcare is the attainment of better health services for all. It is
for this reason that World Health Organization (WHO), has identified five key elements to
achieving this goal:

 Reducing exclusion and social disparities in health (universal coverage reforms);

 Organizing health services around people's needs and expectations (service delivery
reforms);
 Integrating health into all sectors (public policy reforms);
 Pursuing collaborative models of policy dialogue (leadership reforms); and
 Increasing stakeholder participation.
Principles of Primary Health Care
1. Accessibility or making sure that primary care services are available, affordable and
provided equally to all individuals irrespective of their gender, age, ethnicity or location.
Access to comprehensive, compassionate, family and community-centered health care is
the right of all individuals regardless of their ability to pay.
2. Public or community participation or involving all of community’s resources in
promoting health and addressing health problems at the grass roots level. Knowing that it
helps a community to take ownership for the health and wellness of its people.
3. Health promotion or helping a community to strengthen the socioeconomic conditions
that contribute to good health. The Ottawa Charter defines the prerequisites for health as
peace, shelter, education, food, income, sustainable resources, social justice and equity.
Treating the whole person and that means taking into consideration how and where they
live and the everyday struggles they face.
4. Appropriate use of technology or using medical technologies that are affordable,
feasible and culturally acceptable to individuals and the community. Integrate the most
recent technology into our daily work to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of
services.
5. Inter-Sectoral Collaboration or recognizing that any community’s health and well-
being doesn’t depend solely on effective health care services. Governments, businesses
and organizations in other sectors are equally important in promoting the health and self-
reliance of communities. Works in partnership with a diversity of community
stakeholders to develop services that meet the unique needs of individual communities.