PROGRAMME OF ACTION OF THE UN ICPD
A. Primary health care and the health-care sector
Basis for action
8.1. One of the main achievements of the twentieth century has been the unprecedented increase in human longevity. In the past half century, expectation of life at birth in the world as a whole has increased by about 20 years, and the risk of dying in the first year of life has been reduced by nearly two thirds. Nevertheless, these achievements fall short of the much greater improvements that had been anticipated in the World Population Plan of Action and the Declaration of Alma Ata, adopted by the International Conference on Primary Health Care in 1978. There remain entire national populations and sizeable population groups within many countries that are still subject to very high rates of morbidity and mortality. Differences linked to socio-economic status or ethnicity are often substantial. In many countries with economies in transition, the mortality rate has considerably increased as a result of deaths caused by accidents and violence.
8.2. The increases in life expectancy recorded in most regions of the world reflect significant gains in public health and in access to primary health-care services. Notable achievements include the vaccination of about 80 per cent of the children in the world and the widespread use of low-cost treatments, such as oral rehydration therapy, to ensure that more children survive. Yet these achievements have not been realized in all countries, and preventable or treatable illnesses are still the leading killers of young children. Moreover, large segments of many populations continue to lack access to clean water and sanitation facilities, are forced to live in congested conditions and lack adequate nutrition. Large numbers of people remain at continued risk of infectious, parasitic and water-borne diseases, such as tuberculosis, malaria and schistosomiasis. In addition, the health effects of environmental degradation and exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace are increasingly a cause of concern in many countries. Similarly, the growing consumption of tobacco, alcohol and drugs will precipitate a marked increase in costly chronic diseases among working age and elderly people. The impact of reductions in expenditures for health and other social services which have taken place in many countries as a result of public-sector retrenchment, misallocation of available health resources, structural adjustment and the transition to market economies has pre-empted significant changes in lifestyles, livelihoods and consumption patterns and is also a factor in increasing morbidity and mortality. Although economic reforms are essential to sustained economic growth, it is equally essential that the design and implementation of structural adjustment programmes incorporate the social dimension.