30th Anniversary of the Alma Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care

Stamp issue date: 6 September 2008
Photographs: Thea Clemons
Stamp size: 40.6 x 24 mm
Miniature sheet size: 105 x 65 mm
Paper: 110gsm stamp paper
Gum: PVA
Quantity printed: 50 000 miniature sheets
Colour: CMYK
Phosphor: 4 mm in L shape, on rop and right of stamp.
Printing process: Offset Lithography
Printed by: Joh. Enschedé Stamps B.V., The Netherlands

The Declaration of Alma-Ata was adopted at the International Conference on Primary Health Care, at Almaty (formerly Alma-Ata), in Kazakhstan, on 6-12 September 1978. It expressed the need for urgent action by all governments, all health and development workers, and the world community to protect and promote the health of all the people of the world.

The miniature sheet and commemorative cover issued on 6 September 2008 was designed by Thea Clemons with assistance from the Department of Health. The design expresses the definition of health as adopted at the Alma Ata Conference: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Physical fitness is “good bodily health, and is the result of regular exercise, proper diet and nutrition, and proper rest for physical recovery.” Mental health is “a state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities to function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life.”

These definitions are expressed in the design by showing a healthy person exercising. Keeping physically active can prevent major illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer. Vegetables, bread, nuts and berries are featured on the miniature sheet to stress the influence healthy food has on one’s health. Mental health is expressed by a strong light radiating from the head of the person, spreading throughout the whole miniature sheet.

The commemorative envelope expresses the important role water plays in personal health. The canceller focuses on drinking water and the commemorative envelope on water for washing. The Kagiso post office was chosen for the canceller, since the word means “peace” in Tswana. Inner peace contributes to a person’s mental and physical health. Impilo is a Zulu word meaning “health.”

In South Africa, the Declaration has been implemented through:

• the White Paper on the Transformation of the Health System for South Africa, the National Health Act and successive strategic plans of the Department that prioritised primary health care

• governance structures that have been provided
• a District Health System that has been implemented
• a national healthy lifestyles programme/campaign
• access to primary care services that have been improved
• primary health care nurses who have been trained
• a list of essential drugs for primary care that has been developed and implemented
• the District Health Information System that has been developed
• primary care facilities that are supervised have been increased, and
• the reduction in the use of tobacco, especially by the youth, which is one of the success stories.

References:

www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/declaration_almaata.pdf Declaration from the website of the World Health Organization