The
Declaration of Alma-Ata was adopted at the International Conference on
Primary Health Care (PHC),
Almaty (formerly Alma-Ata),
Kazakhstan (formerly
Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic), 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 people. It was the first international declaration underlining the importance of
primary health care. The primary health care approach has since then been accepted by member countries of the
World Health Organization (WHO) as the key to achieving the goal of "
Health For All" but only in third world countries at first. This applied to all other countries five years later.