DUSHANBE, December 12, 2008, Asia-Plus — The World Health Organization (WHO) Dushanbe Office is presenting the World Health report for 2009 in Dushanbe today.
The report is entitled “Primary Health Care: Now More than Ever.”
The World Health Report, first published in 1995, is WHO”s leading publication. Each year the report combines an expert assessment of global health, including statistics relating to all countries, with a focus on a specific subject.
According to WHO website, the main purpose of the report is to provide countries, donor agencies, international organizations and others with the information they need to help them make policy and funding decisions. The report is also offered to a wider audience, from universities, teaching hospitals and schools, to journalists and the public at large – anyone, in fact, with a professional or personal interest in international health issues.
Why a renewal of primary health care (PHC), and why now, more than ever? The immediate answer is the palpable demand for it from Member States – not just from health professionals, but from the political arena as well. Globalization is putting the social cohesion of many countries under stress, and health systems, as key constituents of the architecture of contemporary societies, are clearly not performing as well as they could and as they should. People are increasingly impatient with the inability of health services to deliver levels of national coverage that meet stated demands and changing needs, and with their failure to provide services in ways that correspond to their expectations. Few would disagree that health systems need to respond better – and faster – to the challenges of a changing world. PHC can do that.
