“The Social Litmus Test”

1. “Revitalizing Primary Health Care”Regional Conference on “Revitalizing Primary Health Care”Jakarta, Indonesia 6-8 August 2008

3. “The Social Litmus Test” By Dr Halfdan T. Mahler I, therefore, conclude that health professions still have to make major methodological contributions in three key research areas: 1. Problem setting:We are still unable to quantify local health problems within holistic interactive trends and within social preference systems and therefore unable to generate the related local synergies.

4. 2. Intervention assessment:We sorely miss a valid input/output correlation methodology for local interventions into normally functioning – including community participation – health care systems without comparable control systems. 3. Information systems:We are still quite unable to generate locally relevant, sensitive and consistent information for decision-making at all political and operational levels of existing health care systems.

6. PHC THEN AND NOW • Three perspectives of PHC (Alma-Ata): • A package or set of activities: minimum 8 elements Selective and Comprehensive PHC • Level of care: primary-secondary-tertiary care • Approach: • Universal coverage • Inter-sectoral collaboration • Community participation • Appropriate technology

7. PHC THEN AND NOW NOW • Misperceptions: • PHC is only for poor developing countries • PHC is cheap and low quality care • PHC is only for the rural populations • PHC is primary care or first point of contact • Needs for better partnership with the private sector. Alma-Ata did not specifically address it. • Health Systems Strengthening using PHC approach to better accommodate the needs of various vertical programmes.

8. HEALTH FOR ALL 2000 • Not achieved in 2000 • HFA as a vision for health development, no definite time line • There is misperception also: in the year 2000 the health professionals provided health care for everybody or that nobody would be sick or disabled. • Proposed new definition: • “A stage of health development whereby everyone has access to quality health care or practice self-care protected by financial security so that no individual or family is experiencing catastrophic expenditure that may bring about impoverishment”.

9. MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS • A universal framework for: • development and • a means for developing countries and their development partners to work together • Routine monitoring of MDGs is necessary. • Proxy indicators for U5MR and MMR (e.g. coverage of Measles immunization; coverage of birth attended by SBA)

10. Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women 1. Eradicate extreme poverty & hunger 4. Reduce child mortality 5. Improve maternal health Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria & other diseases 7. Ensure environmental sustainability Revitalizing PHC to Catalyze MDGs Achievement 8. Develop a global partnership for development All MDGs are inter-related  Working towards achieving one Goal will make uscloser to achievements of the rest

11. HEALTH SYSTEMS USING PHC APPROACH A health system consists of all organizations, people and actions whose primary intent is to promote, restore or maintain health. This includes efforts to influence determinants of health as well as more direct health-improving activities • Health systems are highly context-specific; there is no single set of best practices that can be put forward as a model for improved performance

12. HEALTH SYSTEMS USING PHC APPROACH

13. CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING PRIMARY HEALTH CARE • Misinterpretations of the concept of Primary Health Care • Burden of diseases • Inequity in health • Escalating health care cost • Trade agreements • Interdependence of the world • Inadequate performance or low efficiency of the health system • Need for more research • Financing the health system • Need for integrated services • Public Private Partnership • Climate change

15. REVITALIZING PRIMARY HEALTH CARE, THE WAY FORWARD • Reaffirm high political commitment toward PHC • Improve health equity through specific actions in health sector as well as in SDH • Foster more effective multi-sectorial collaboration for establishment and implementation of Healthy Public Policy • Strengthen health workforce including CBHW and CHV • Implement equitable health care financing • Strengthen partnership with the civil society • Promote better transparency and accountability of the health systems through improved leadership and governance (stewardship) • Utilize to its fullest various global health initiatives (e.g. GAVI and GF ATM) and IHP

16. Strategy must be managed Dr. Amorn Nondasuta • A need to put all the diverse aspects of development into order. • Clear destination statements as to where we shall go from here (by what year?) • What are the hierarchy of strategic objectives ? • Who is going to do what, when, where ? we need a strategy map

17. An Example of a Strategy Map People’ ability to take action in health matters Local Gov’t support program People’s project Surveillance/ Social Measures Central Gov’t agencies’ role Local Gov’t role Community’ role Development Process Stakeholder People Strategy map construction and usage Efficient management system (innovation at community level) Efficient IEC system High-performance organization Data/Information dissemination Human-resource development program

19. THANK YOU