40 years of Alma-Ata: Steps India can take to achieve 'health for all'

The declaration said unequal social and economic status within the country itself as well as among the countries all contribute to ill health

The Alma-Ata Declaration was adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care (PHC) which was held between September 6-12, 1978. The declaration was indeed historical, because, for the first time, elected representatives from 134 countries and 67 international organisations agreed upon a common definition of health that examined causes of ill-health to lie beyond the four walls of hospitals. This Declaration will complete 40 years in September. So, it is perhaps the right time to take a relook at and examine as to what has happened to this document. What have been the commitments of governments to the Alma-Ata