From 25 to 26 October, the Global Conference on Primary Health Care was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, together with WHO, UNICEF and the Government of Kazakhstan.
The countries have signed the Astana Declaration on PHC “From Almaty to Universal Healthcare Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals”. The new Astana Declaration defines four key areas for further work. These are bold political decisions to improve people’s health in all areas; creating sustainable primary health care and building stakeholders` support with national policies, strategies and plans.
More than 2,100 participants, including about 1,200 foreign delegates from 146 countries, gathered to determine the future of medicine. The participation of 85 state leaders – including foreign Vice Prime Ministers and Ministers, as well as 10 members of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, raised the level of the conference from professional medical to high political status.
Over two days, more than 190 speakers of the main sessions, over 150 speakers at the side events spoke at the conference site.
At the two-day exhibition Digital Health Astana, the best technological developments in medicine were collected.
Bilateral meetings at the level of Ministers of Health were held with the following countries: the Russian Federation, the USA, Uzbekistan, Iran, Armenia, Slovenia, Ghana and others. Within the framework of which memoranda, agreements, roadmaps and other strategic documents in the field of health were signed to improve the quality of medical services, the development of primary health care, medical education, pharmacy, digitalization of health care, the development of medical tourism, increasing investment in the primary health care sector, etc.
WHO General Director, Tedros Gebreyesus, noted that “If they asked what I did the best when I was Minister of Health in Ethiopia, then I am proud that I strengthened the primary health care system. Adopted Declaration is all that we need. But the Declaration should not remain as the text. It must be implemented. We live in a period of unprecedented political commitment. At this time we cannot fail to fulfill the Declaration. We must implement it!”
The closing ceremony of the Global Conference on Primary Health Care “From Almaty to Universal Healthcare Coverage and Sustainable Development Goals” ended with a festive concert.
