Linking the university with the community and its health system

Over many years Latin American universities have operated 'extension projects' in their surrounding communities. These projects, in health professions schools, frequently involved the establishment of community-based health centres operated by the university. Since the early 1970s, a large number of health professions schools entered into agreements with local or regional health systems for the operation of projects of 'articulation of teaching and services' in well-defined geographic areas. The primary health care strategy emphasized by WHO and actively promoted by national governments since the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978 led to a worldwide movement toward effective 'community participation' in each own local health system. An assessment of these initiatives, involving three types of paired relationships (university-community; university-local health system; local health system-community) provided the idea and the experiential basis for an innovative programme bringing the three partners together in a joint effort. Program UNT was set up and now includes 23 projects which are partially supported by the Kellogg Foundation. They all share a common set of ideas and ideals, emanating from the Alma Ata and Edinburgh Declarations, and are currently being implemented in 11 countries of Latin America.