Primary health care is key to solving the health challenges facing countries in Asia and the Pacific, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO says that investment in primary health care is essential to provide access for the most vulnerable, build more equitable societies and help economies grow.
Many people in WHO’s Western Pacific Region cannot access the health services they need. For some, services are too far away. Others do not know when or where to seek care. Others fear stigma and discrimination.
Many people simply do not have enough money. In some countries in the Region, one in five families spends more than 10% of its income on health care. Globally, the cost of health care pushes 100 million people a year into extreme poverty.
In the Sustainable Development Goals, governments committed to achieving universal health coverage by 2030, which will ensure that all people have access to good quality health services without financial hardship.
On World Health Day 2019, WHO wants leaders to invest in primary health care as the smartest first step towards universal health coverage, also known as “health for all”.
Strengthening primary health care means ensuring that all people get most basic health services as close as possible to where they live and work. The primary level should be people’s first point of contact with the health system.
Primary health care includes a range of services throughout life – from health promotion to screening for health problems, vaccines and information on disease prevention, family planning, treatment for long- and short-term conditions, rehabilitation and palliative care, as well as treatment for common ailments like colds.
Primary health care focuses on caring for people and helping them improve their health or maintain their well-being, rather than treating a single disease or condition.
