wfn.org | Title: Reclaiming the vision of Alma Ata

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches
Release 03-20
For Immediate Use
20 May 2003

Reclaiming the vision of Alma Ata

"Go back to the principles of primary health care: reviving Alma Ata is the
most important step to ensure 'Health For All'," said a 16-18 May
consultation in Geneva facilitated by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and
the Peoples Health Movement. 

The Peoples Health Movement is a grassroots movement present in nearly 100
countries. The Geneva consultation, timed to take place just before the 56th
World Health Assembly, reminded the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF
and the international community about their promise to the people of the
world. The promise - of 'Health for All by the Year 2000' - was formulated in
an historic 1978 statement - the Alma Ata declaration.

The Geneva consultation galvanized grassroots health workers, academics, the
original architects of Alma Ata, peace groups and other civil society
representatives from across the globe. "We demand health for all NOW!" was
the participants' unanimous demand. At a time when over 30,000 children die
every day worldwide from preventable diseases, it was an appropriate call. 

"I believe in people. People's health is safest in people's hands. The
objective is to empower individuals and communities with the knowledge and
skills necessary to achieve health for themselves," said one consultation
participant, Dr John Oommen from Orissa, India.

For the WCC, bringing together the grassroots and policy-makers is important,
while bringing the voices of "the unheard" to the fore is part of the
responsibility of the church.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the historic Alma Ata international
conference on primary health care (PHC) which proclaimed the  goal of 'Health
for All by the Year 2000'.  In fact, the church-related health programmes who
were the original members of the Christian Medical Commission (CMC),
established within the WCC in 1968, were inventing PHC well before that
conference. Studies done (1973-75) to prepare for Alma Ata used a number of
their programmes as examples of successful primary health care work.

In 1974, Dr Halfdan Mahler, then director general of WHO, established a joint
committee with CMC director James McGilvray and the-then director of the
WCC's Division of World Mission and Evangelism, Rev. Lesslie Newbigin to
explore cooperation in matters "of mutual concern".  These meetings led WHO
to later formulate the principles of primary health care.  
*/*
 Following Alma Ata, the CMC journal CONTACT was used as a tool for social
change in the health sector, and church health-coordinating agencies
throughout the world were encouraged and facilitated to work with their
member churches and health programmes to make primary health care a priority.
Since then, the churches' continued involvement in health care around the
world shows that Alma Ata's vision of 'Health for All' and primary health
care are still as vital and relevant as ever, especially in contexts of
poverty.

Through CMC, the WCC thus played a crucial role in the development of the
primary health care concept. "We celebrate the achievements of the past 25
years, while recognizing that the goal of 'Health for All' has not been
achieved," said a WCC delegation slated to participate in the World Health
Assembly. (The WCC has consultative status with WHO and provides a key
platform for civil society input to WHO assemblies.)

"We renew our determination to respond to the needs of the poorest and most
marginalized through our membership, and reaffirm our commitment to the goal
of 'Health for All' and the principles of primary health care, empowering
people to adapt them according to their local realities," the delegation
affirmed.

The following members of the WCC delegation to the World Health Assembly are
available for interviews:

Natalia CEBOTARENCO, director, DrugInfo Moldova, board member, Ecumenical
Pharmaceutical Network (Moldova)
Gabi HETLER, coordinator, German Institute for Medical Mission (DIFAM) 
Manoj KURIAN, programme executive for Health, Healing and Wholeness, WCC
Mission & Ecumenical Formation team
Samuel MWENDA, director, Health Association of Kenya 
Patricia NICKSON, dean, Panafrican Institute for Community Health (Dem. Rep.
Congo)
Eva OMBAKA, director, WCC Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network (Tanzania)
J.C.OMMEN, head, Community Health Department, Christian Hospital,  Orissa,
(India)
Eric RAM, former director, World Vision and former director, WCC/CMC
(Switzerland)
David SANDERS, professor of Community Health, University of Western Cape
(South Africa)
Jose UTRERA, coordinator, Dutch Working Group on Health and Development
Issues (WEMOS) (Netherlands)

For further information, please contact the Media Relations Office, 
tel: +41 (0)22 791 64 21 /61 53

**********

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, which
meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in
1948 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary
Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

World Council of Churches
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