Community-Oriented Primary Care

Community-oriented primary careJan De Maeseneer, Anselm Derese Twenty years ago ... somewhere in Kasachstan On 12 September 1998 it will be 20 years ago that the Alma Ata meeting was held: the International Conference on Primary Health Care, organised by WHO and UNICEF.The declaration of Alma Ata stated that 'primary health care is essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound (now we would call this 'evidence-based') and socially accepted methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost that the community and country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination'.' The document mentioned that 'Primary health care addresses the main health problems in the community, providing promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services accordingly ... Primary health care requires and promotes maximum community and individual self-reliance and participation in the planning, organisation, operation and control of primary health care, making the fullest use of local, national and other available resources ...