Report on the rural health survey (1982/83) ;volume I

Concern for the health of the masses, by most countries, especially less developed countries, has grown significantly since the Alma-Ata (in USSR) declaration on Primary Health Care in 1978. The International Conference on Primary Health Care, at Alma-Ata, endorsed the affirmation of the Thirtieth World Health Assembly, in May 1977, that the attainment of a higher quality of life by all the peoples of the world by the year 2000 is the goal towards which all governments should strive for in the ensuing decades. From the aspect of health, this means governments of the world should work to attain the goal of a level of health, for all the peoples of the world, that will enable them to lead socially and economically productive life. Thus the Alma-Ata conference recognized that health is a human right to be enjoyed by all and recommended "Primary Health Care" (PHC) as the approach for achieving an acceptable level of Health for all by the year 2000 (HFA/2000). Ethiopia has committed itself to HFA/2000 as recommended by the Alma-Ata Conference by signing the "Charter for the Health Development of the African Region by the year 2000" as well as practically launching a "Primary Health Care Program", which has already started catering the basic health needs of the masses, in the country soon after the Alma-Ata conference. It is therefore appropriate to collect and compile population based data on the health of the masses.