Funding for primary health care in developing countries

The World Health Organization’s World Health Report 2007 deals with access to primary health care as an essential prerequisite for health.1 It acknowledges the importance of the Alma-Ata declaration of 1978, which called for integrated primary health care as a way to deal with major health problems in communities and for access to care as part of a comprehensive national health system. Yet the mission of Alma-Ata—to provide accessible, affordable, and sustainable primary health care for all—has been implemented only partially in developing countries.2 We have therefore instigated the “15by2015” campaign (www.15by2015.org), which proposes a funding mechanism for strengthening primary health care in developing countries.

In the accompanying analysis article, Gillam notes that most developing countries have failed to provide even basic primary healthcare packages. Weaknesses in primary healthcare services often result from a variety of forces, including economic crises and market reforms, which limit the range and coverage of services and thus their effect on health.3 4 On the positive side, between 1997 and 2002, financial support to improve …