The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the World Bank (WB) have initiated the Alliance for Primary Health Care in the Americas. This collaboration aims to enhance investment, innovation, and policy implementation to transform health systems in the region, emphasizing primary health care. The launch is timely, considering the ongoing recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly impacted health indicators and exposed weaknesses in health and social protection sectors.
Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO Director, stressed the importance of primary health care in recovering from setbacks and addressing major health challenges. The alliance, he believes, is crucial for accelerating progress through collective action.
Primary health care is seen as a key solution to address the unmet health needs of a third of the Americas’ population. This approach ensures comprehensive, quality care for individuals throughout their lives and close to their homes, thereby bridging the gap in healthcare delivery.
Ana María Ibáñez of the IDB highlighted the need for an intersectoral approach to achieve effective primary health care, involving coordination across various sectors. Meanwhile, Carlos Felipe Jaramillo from the World Bank emphasized the urgency of strengthening primary care and expanding access to resilient health systems, which is crucial for disease prevention and health security.
The alliance acknowledges the deficit of 6 million health workers in the Americas and the necessity of investing in health personnel, infrastructure, and education. It aims to support the development of national primary health care investment plans, provide guidance for strengthening health system resilience, and design context-specific, evidence-based interventions.
The collaboration will also focus on fostering innovation, including digital transformation like telehealth for underserved areas, and the development of new medicines and vaccines. This partnership is aligned with global commitments to renew primary health care as the foundation of sustainable health systems, expand coverage, ensure universal health access, and achieve health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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