From Aspirations to Reality: Making Primary Health Care Happen

Policymakers will convene at the Global Conference on Primary Health Care in Astana later this month to mark the 40th anniversary of the Declaration of Alma-Ata and renew their commitments to building strong primary health care (PHC) systems. While there has been tremendous progress in deploying PHC services to improve health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries, there are major gaps between aspirations and reality. The renewed global commitment in Astana is an opportunity to underscore why and how a proactive focus on PHC can be central to the UHC2030 agenda.

This event co-hosted by the Center for Global Development (CGD), John Snow, Inc. (JSI), and Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI) will assess major outcomes emerging from Astana, provide a reality check on challenges countries are facing, and reflect on the role of the global health community going forward. Watch the recording of our two back-to-back panels (agenda and speaker list below) that brought programmers, planners, and implementers together with funders, policymakers, and global health financing experts to discuss why strong PHC matters for UHC; the key barriers, including policy and implementation challenges; as well as ideas to ensure greater equity, quality, and efficiency in PHC.