Healthcare for the poor and dispossessed: from Alma-Ata to the Millennium Development Goals

Healthcare models which recognize the equity principle have had to confront the challenge of providing healthcare for the poor and dispossessed. Healthcare premised on "human rights" strives to remove/ reduce barriers to access by a complete waiver of all fees in the public sector or various other subsidies to make healthcare more affordable. Social welfare programmes are held hostage to the vagaries of the economy and resource scarcity. The Alma-Ata's primary healthcare is inherently a health development strategy which embraces a wholistic approach to health and wellness. This strategy, by refocussing on the Millennium Development Goals, can therefore accommodate the innovations required to overcome the challenges posed by technological, financial, cultural and geographical factors to provide a better quality of life for all, but moreso for the poor and dispossessed.