International primary care and the RCGP: The College's role in global health

摘要

In 1978the World Health Organization (WHO) made a public declaration in Alma-Ata advocating the use of primary healthcare systems globally.1 Twenty-two years later the United Nations (UN) agreed eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be attained by 2015. Core to the delivery of them, although not explicitly mentioned, is the primary healthcare model as set out in the Alma-Ata Declaration. In 2008 the WHO Regional Office for Europe reiterated that effective primary health care was essential to the delivery of quality health services for individuals and populations by publishing the Talinn Charter.4 This too included a commitment to attain the Charter's targets by 2015.