The Pan American Journal of Public Health, published by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), announces a call for papers for an upcoming special issue to commemorate the 40-year anniversary of Alma-Ata and its influence in the Americas. Papers will be accepted in Portuguese, Spanish and English. The manuscript selection process will follow the journal peer-review procedures. Deadline: December 29, 2017.

Rationale

Forty years ago, the World Health Organization member countries agreed on a set of principles at Alma-Ata to protect and promote health of all people by articulating primary health care as the guiding principle of a comprehensive health system. Since the declaration of Alma-Ata in 1978, countries of the Americas have been witnessing tremendous progress, economic growth, and improvements to their health systems. Nevertheless, many challenges remain in the Region, including poverty and inequities, barriers to access health, inefficient models of care, segmentation of health systems, fragmentation of services, insufficient health financing, and weak governance and leadership.

To address the unfinished agenda and promote primary health care-based health systems in the Americas, PAHO has articulated a number of strategies and plans with member states and passed a range of resolutions. In 2007, PAHO’s position paper on Renewing Primary Health Care in the Americas included the definition of elements and functions of a primary health care-based health system that guided the countries of the Region on the transformation of their health systems and assessment of their needs. In 2014, the Resolution on Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage, also known as Universal Health, recalled the values of Alma-Ata and called the countries of the Region to move toward health systems where all people and communities have access, without any kind of discrimination, to comprehensive, appropriate and timely, quality health services, as well as access to safe, effective, and affordable quality medicines, while ensuring that the use of such services does not expose users to financial difficulties, especially groups in conditions of vulnerability.

After four decades of efforts and substantial implementation of policies and programs that place primary health care at the center of health systems, it is time to take stock of progress on meeting the goals of primary health care. 

Read the full call: http://www.paho.org/journal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id...