Reassessing the Alma-Ata Declaration: A Scoping Review of Its Impact on Global Surgery.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The 1978 Alma-Ata Declaration is a landmark document that has profoundly shaped the evolution of the global health agenda. The declaration defined and emphasized low-cost primary healthcare, a hazy definition that, for many, implied a focus on primary care, thereby inadvertently excluding surgical care. With 5 billion people lacking access to quality surgery, determining the potential contributors to this monumental catastrophe is a first step to resolving it. This review explored the impact of the 1978 Alma-Ata Declaration on global surgery (GS).

Methods

We conducted a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-adherent scoping review of publications, from which data characterizing the effects of the declaration on surgery were extracted a

SUBMITTER: Chang AH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12637356 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature