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The Australian Development Gateway (ADG) strives to support members of the development community in their efforts to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region. The site has been created with participation from members of government, private, academia and non-government organisations. User feedback mechanisms have been incorporated to guide future directions of the site. The site is optimised for low bandwidth access to enable the widest participation throughout the Asia Pacific region.

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Primary health care

Comprehensive versus selective primary health care: lessons for global health policy (pdf 105kb)

This paper reviews the major ideas and trends in primary health care around the world in the last 50 years, with a particular focus on the 1978 Alma Ata Declaration on primary health care and what has happened since then.

Considered too idealistic and expensive, the Alma Ata model of primary health care has largely been replaced with a disease-focused, selective model since the declaration.

The paper reviews the effectiveness of the selective model, and argues for a need to again review the more holistic Alma Ata model and reconsider the interrelationships between health and socioeconomic development.

 

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