The Alma-Ata International Conference on Primary Health Care was a watershed in global health: the hard-won consensus established health care as a human right and accessible primary care as fundamental to 'health for all,' and especially to closing the gap between rich and poor countries. At the time, Cuba had already transformed its own health approach by adopting a single, universal public health system, and by devising primary care based on health facilities in the community. But it was on the heels of the Alma-Ata meeting that Cuba launched its most daring reform in primary health care: the Family Doctor-and-Nurse Program. Introduced in 1984, the program expanded rapidly, posting doctors and nurses in neighborhoods and rural areas across Cuba. The teams were responsible for the health of a geographically defined population and reported to a local polyclinic. Their task was to implement a strategy of integrated, community-oriented care emphasizing prevention, health promotion, public participation and patient responsibility
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