Positive practices in developing primary health care-oriented health systems – A collection of case stories from the WHO South-East Asia Region

Overview

The desire for comprehensive primary health care (PHC) available to all has long been held by countries of the WHO South-East Asia Region, pre-dating the 1978 Alma-Ata declaration. Contemporary climatic, demographic, economic, epidemiological, social, and health emergency-related pressures have provided further motivation to strengthen PHC-orientation of health system across the region and globally.

The 2023 UN General Assembly Political Declaration of the PHC as the cornerstone for accelerating progress towards Universal Health Coverage and the health-related SDGs, while also contributing to the resilience of health systems.

Encouragingly, as evidenced during the 76th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia, there is strong momentum to strengthen PHC-orientation of health system across countries of the SE Asia Region. However, operationalizing the vision of quality PHC across the varied geographies and contexts of the two billion people of  the Region remains a major challenge.

This publication, through the selection and presentation of twenty case studies in narrative from, distills the knowledge of how operational challenges are being overcome to realize the vision of PHC. The case stories speak to the possible and give the opportunity to build upon the experience of others. At least as important as the publication itself is how it came to be - by leveraging the collective knowledge present within the Region, as channeled through the South-East Asia Regional PHC Forum.

The WHO South-East Asia Regional Roadmap for Results and Resilience prioritizes WHO’s role in supporting future-ready health systems based on a holistic understanding of health, with people - especially the most vulnerable - at the center. It further prioritizes WHO’s role in capacity development and knowledge management, including through capturing and contextualizing local and social innovations. This publication, and the process towards its’ development, is directly aligned with this vision for WHO and a healthier region.