Will The Spirit Of Alma-Ata Come Alive In Astana?

Comprehensive primary health care could potentially emergecentrestage at a WHO conclave in the Kazakh capital this month

- Dr K. Srinath Reddy

“HEALTH FOR ALL BY 2000” was an inspiring slogan that rang out of the Alma-Ata Declaration that the world adopted in 1978 under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO). Much has changed since then, with Kazakhstan emerging as an independent country from the break up of the Soviet Union and changing the name of the erstwhile capital Alma-Ata to Almaty. The country has even had a new capital in Astana since 1997. The distance between Almaty and Astana, both in Kazakhstan, is 1,200 kilometres. The world has taken 40 years to make this journey, which still seems a start and not an end.

More important, the resonance and relevance of the declaration have altered in the changed context of global health. The design of comprehensive health care, which emerged at Alma-Ata, was abandoned in the decades that followed, only to be revived again in recent years. The cynicism, with which critics dismissed “health for all” as an empty slogan, has given way to new understanding and fresh commitment, as the United Nations (UN) in 2015 articulated as a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to be attained by 2030: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.