Podcast appearances and mentions of alma ata declaration

ANN Groong Week in Review - June 9, 2024Topics:Peace Treaty and more Aliyev DemandsJames O'Brien in YerevanRussia Armenia RelationsSrbazan MovementGuest:Anna Karapetyan - TW/@Karapetyan_AnnHosts:Hovik Manucharyan - TW/@HovikYerevanAsbed Bedrossian - TW/@qubriqEpisode 335 | Recorded: June 10, 2024Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Aram Orbelyan - The 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration: What did Armenia Sign? | Ep 293, November 14, 2023Conversations on GroongTopics:What is the Alma Ata Declaration?What is the CIS Based on?About Borders, Treaties, and DeclarationsArmenia's explicit reservation affecting Artsakh in the TreatyWhy would Pashinyan ignore the Reservations?Territorial Integrity and Use of ForceWhat Autonomy was LTP Envisioning?Where does 2023 Leave the Cause of Artsakh?How should Armenia Pursue it on the International Scene?Guest:Aram Orbelyan - TW/@Aram_OrbelianHosts:Asbed Bedrossian - TW/@qubriqHovik Manucharyan - TW/@HovikYerevanEpisode 293 | Recorded: November 13, 2023Subscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

The Astana Declaration: a look back at primary care services 40 years after the Alma-Ata Declaration, and future priorities for strengthening primary care worldwide within the context of sustainable development.

Our latest Iran Chat is with Dr. James Miller, Managing Director of the Oxford International Development Group, a health research and project management consulting company in Oxford, Mississippi.   Dr. Miller began working in the area of health diplomacy in 2004 while seeking ways to improve health outcomes and access to medical care for people in the impoverished rural Mississippi Delta region.  For this, he turned to Iran’s primary health care model, which is known for its system of health houses staffed by citizen health workers who provide health education and preventative health services to their local communities.  Recognized by the World Health Organization for its success in improving medical outcomes for rural communities in Iran,  Dr. James Miller began working with the architects of this system to develop and adapt the Iranian model in ways that could address the health disparity challenges in the impoverished Delta regions.    Our conversation with Dr. Miller involves an examination of this interesting project to bring Iran's health care model to the rural Mississippi Delta region; it also covers a range of related topical issues– including the ways that humanitarian programs can improve dialogue and understanding between the US and Iran, and a broader discussion of health care, which continues to be a hot button issue in the US.   Some highlights from our conversation: The Background of Iran’s Preventative Health Care System:  “In 1978 all WHO members unanimously agreed in the Alma-Ata Declaration – a seminal document in public and global health initiatives that access to basic health services was a fundamental human right. The declaration also highlighted the importance of primary care and many countries, including Iran, revised their health care system around the primary health care focus… After Alma-Ata, key health care experts in Iran including the late Dr. Shadpour, who was one of the original architects of the primary health care model in Iran, determined the most effective way forward for Iran was through the implementation of a comprehensive and integrated primary health care system with the health house serving as the main service entry point, and the results speak for themselves…. The infant mortality rate in Iran fell over 70%, with similar results in maternal mortality. Health care access in rural areas compared to those in urban areas all but eliminated health disparities, and infectious diseases were all but eliminated in rural areas." Why Mississippi Looked to Iran for Help: "The rural counties in the Delta are some of the most impoverished in the US and the living conditions in those counties have health indicators and economic conditions similar to those in developing countries. It’s shocking.  Overall Mississippi is the poorest state in the US and today it has 22% of its population living below the poverty line. Subsets of that [are faring even worse]: the African American poverty rate is over 34%, Native Americans over 28% and Latinos at 27.5%.  Mississippi is also the unhealthiest state, and it ranks last in national surveys by respected foundations and institutions… [Furthermore] there has been no change, no discernible improvement with time. Health problems twenty years ago are still the same as we have now.  Of special concern… and this is what got us so interested in the Iranian model: infant mortality rates in a number of Delta counties are similar to that of Algeria, Libya, and Vietnam…" "[Therefore we looked to see if] there were some places around the world that might be similar in lack of resources, using a cost effective and adaptable model that we could deploy in those counties throughout the Delta region, and deal especially with the issue that there are few doctors available to serve this particular segment of the population.  The World Bank and World Health Organization, and in researching and reviewing the results, all pointed to the Iranian system as being most effective." Health Diplomacy: Meetings Between American and Iranian Doctors "Doctors see things [from a perspective of] science and empirical analysis.  They want to hear new things about treatments.  From what I observed, when Iranian and American doctors got together, it was like friends getting together for a great time, talking about their work and their families and personal issues.  You couldn’t tell them apart!   My observation was they can get along famously.  There is no problem between physicians and scientists:  science is nonpolitical no one country owns science or medicine… it belongs to us all and that is something in the upper most in physicians’ and scientists’ minds; it’s universal." Making the Case to Politicians for Engagement: "Back in December I started a letter writing campaign to my congressmen and senators to say, 'Here’s [my experience from my work engaging with Iran] and please take this into consideration when you’re viewing the Iranians and formulating Iranian policy.  If you cut this positive channel of communication off, then we (Americans) are the losers in this, and it’s going to just lead to more tension.'  In fact, this kind of public diplomacy is the kind of communication we need to be emphasizing… The State Department isn’t involved so much anymore in trying to build Iranian relations, so we the people have to do it, and we need to communicate it with our elected representatives." "Our representatives have to consider what we know, what we have seen, what we hope.  That’s the nature of a democracy and I’m trying to do my part, and I hope others who may listen to this podcast may be willing to do their part in helping us avoid conflict."

Health for All by the Year 2000 was the goal of the Alma Ata Declaration in 1978. The authors, many of them Christians, hoped to achieve access to basic healthcare for all people using a community health development approach. Yet more than 30 years later the concept languishes. What have we learned during the past 30 years that might restore the goal?

The Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP), Jamkhed, India, has been a pioneer in developing sustainable comprehensive community-based primary health care (CC-BPHC) since 1970, which has empowered communities to address their own health problems and development. Villages are transformed into caring and sharing communities, working together to improve the health of the whole community, especially poor, marginalized and women. Over the years it has continued to be innovative in its work in various aspects of health, now including non-communicable conditions and mental health, as well as various aspects of development. The program is based on the building capacity of communities, especially through village health workers, and dealing with root causes (social determinants of health). Its principles are equity, integration and empowerment. The Jamkhed Institute shares this experience with people from all over the world, training leadership in CC-BPHC. Its experience influenced the Alma Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care by WHO/UNICEF in 1978, which is currently being revitalized by WHO and others worldwide. The session will describe the philosophy, principles and practice developed by the CRHP staff and villagers of the Jamkhed area, and discuss the effectiveness and sustainability of this approach, which has been shared with people all over the world, including religious organizations.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Audio News October 1st, 2008 Health For All 30 Years After Alma Ata? Mental Health And War Reporting from: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Symposia: The Future of Primary Health Care: Alma Ata 30 Years On September 11-12, 2008 Mental Health in Fragile States September 8-9, 2008 Two important symposia have been held in London to discuss healthcare issues posing significant dilemmas to world leaders in the 21st Century. "The Future of Primary Health Care" was attended by public health experts from around the Globe to assess the best options for improving primary health care in the future. It was held on the 30th anniversary of the Alma Ata Declaration made in 1977 which was intended as a blueprint for health provision and identified primary health care as the means through which the global goal of "Health for All" could be achieved. The second meeting, on "Mental Health in Fragile States", was held to raise the profile of mental health care in zones where conflict has taken place or is still happening. Analyses of the key issues and how to deal with them effectively were discussed by top experts from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and associated organisations. Peter Goodwin attended both meetings and talked with some of the key speakers.

Joy Lawn from Save the Children explains the origins and current progress in international health since the signing of the Alma-Ata Declaration 30 years ago.