Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine: Primary Health Care For All — Alma-Ata Declaration’s 40th Anniversary
David Bishai, professor in population, family, and reproductive health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Henry G. Taylor, deputy health officer for two rural counties in Maryland, discuss the impact of and lessons learned from the Alma-Ata declaration on its 40th anniversary, and look forward to its future. They write, “If the WHO’s reaffirmation of the Alma-Ata Declaration goes right, it will be a second chance to recognize that a ‘treatment only’ approach is not the way to address the modern scourges of noncommunicable diseases and injuries. … Now is our chance to come together, support and engage communities, and bring the goal of health for all to fruition” (September 2018).