Primary health care

Since 1978, the concept of primary health care has been reinterpreted and redefined many times over the years, leading to confusion both in terminology and in practice. A clear and simple definition has been formulated to facilitate the coordination of future efforts in this area at the global, national and local levels and to guide their implementation:

“Primary health care is a whole-of-society approach to health that aims to ensure the highest possible level of health and well-being and its equitable distribution by giving priority to the needs of the populations as early as possible throughout the care chain from health promotion and disease prevention to treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care, and while remaining as close as possible to the daily environment of populations. WHO and UNICEF.

Primary health care brings together three interdependent and complementary components: providing comprehensive and integrated health services of which primary care and public health goods and functions constitute the central elements; apply policies and measures across multiple sectors to address broader and upstream determinants of health; engage individuals, families and communities and empower them to increase their social participation as well as their self-care and self-responsibility for health.

Primary health care is based on a commitment to social justice, equity, solidarity and participation. They are based on the following observation: the possession of the best possible state of health constitutes one of the fundamental rights of every human being, without distinction.

Achieving truly universal health coverage requires moving from health systems designed around diseases and facilities to health systems designed for people, with people. Governments, at all levels, must emphasize the importance of acting beyond the health sector in order to engage in a whole-of-government approach to health, integrating a health in all policies and with a strong emphasis on equity and on interventions that take into account the entire life course.

» Primary health care approach covers broader determinants of health and emphasizes physical, mental and social health and well-being, considered together and interdependently. The goal is to provide care to people as a whole, based on health needs throughout their lives, and not simply to treat specific illnesses. Primary health care ensures that people receive comprehensive, quality care, from promotion and prevention to treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care, as close as possible to their daily environment.

Why is primary health care important?

Member States are committed to renewing and implementing primary health care, the cornerstone of a sustainable health system conducive to the achievement of universal health coverage, the health-related Sustainable Development Goals and health security, of which they constitute the “programmatic engine”. This commitment was codified and reaffirmed in the Astana Declaration and its accompanying World Health Assembly Resolution 72/2, in the global monitoring reports on universal health coverage, and in high-level declarations. level of the United Nations General Assembly on universal health coverage. Universal health coverage, health-related Sustainable Development Goals and health security goals are ambitious, but achievable. Progress in this direction must urgently accelerate, and primary health care is the way to get there.

Primary health care represents the most inclusive, equitable, cost-effective and effective way to improve populations’ physical and mental health, as well as social well-being. Evidence of the large-scale impact of investments in primary health care continues to accumulate around the world, particularly in times of crisis such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Worldwide, investments in primary health care help improve equity and access, health care efficiency, health systems accountability and transparency, and health outcomes. While some of these factors are directly linked to the health system and access to health services, it is clear that other very varied factors play an essential role as determinants of health and well-being, including protection social, food systems, educational attainment and environmental factors.

Primary health care is also essential to improve the resilience of health systems to crisis situations, enable them to more proactively detect the first signs of epidemics and better prepare them to respond quickly in the event of a sudden increase in the number of outbreaks. request for services. Although evidence continues to evolve, it is already widely accepted that primary health care is the “front door” to the health system and provides the foundation on which to strengthen essential public health functions to to address public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

WHO is supporting countries to reorient their health systems towards primary health care, which will be a key means of achieving universal health coverage and Sustainable Development Goal 3 and achieving health security. Health systems must be tailored to people, context and purpose. Strengthening the health system requires strengthening health governance and financing; health workers; consideration of gender issues, equity and rights; information systems; quality of care and patient safety; maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and healthy aging; sexual and reproductive health; medicines and medical supplies; emergency preparedness, response and recovery; activities relating to communicable and non-communicable diseases, among others.