The Delhi Declaration 2018: “Healthcare for All Rural People” – Alma Ata Revisited

Abstract

In the 40 ^th anniversary year of Alma Ata: Health for All by 2000 conference, Academy of Family Physicians of India organized the 15 ^th WONCA World Rural Health conference in New Delhi from 26 to 29 ^th April 2018. More than a thousand delegates (1044) from 40 countries participated in this international conference. The conference attracted a multidisciplinary participation from various backgrounds with an interest in rural primary healthcare. Theme of this conference was “Healing the Heart of Healthcare-Leaving No one behind”. The conference aspired to bring rural healthcare on global agenda. This was the first ever World Rural Health Conference organized in South Asia, incidentally a quarter of human population lives in South Asia, majority of which is based in rural habitat. The conference culminated with the unanimous adoption of the Delhi Declaration; calling for people living in rural and isolated parts of the to be given special priority, if nations are to achieve universal health coverage. The declaration has been cited at the website of the World Health Organization and is available in six languages (Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.