40 years of Basic Health Care in Tunisia Alma Ata in Astana. It’s time to revitalize the first line of care

Abstract

In order to readjust the national policy of Basic Health Care (SSB) to the declaration of Primary Health Care (SSP) of Astana (2018), 40 years after that of Alma Ata (1978), this paper summarizes the lessons learned from the international and national experience of PHC / SSB and presents the originator lines of the roadmap of the second version of SSB in Tunisia.
WHO and Unicef have identified four lessons from PHC policy: 1. Political leadership, prioritizing primary care. 2. Sufficient funding to ensure the availability of basic services and their access by the population served. 3. Health personnel specifically trained in primary care, with decent working conditions. 4. A support strategy for the quality of care, based on financial and moral motivation.
In Tunisia, the history of SSBs has memorized images of successes such as the organization of simulation sessions for the preparation of the “oral rehydration solution”, “mobile teams” of home visits, “deadlines” for monitoring vaccination and “school social action units” for multisectoral management of the problem of school backwardness.
The "Think Tank" groups, having reflected on the perspectives of SSBs in Tunisia, came up with a roadmap made up of four fundamental axes. 1. Creation of a National Health Insurance Fund (CNAS), affiliated with the Ministry of Health, and promoting prevention and health promotion. 2. Focus on non-communicable diseases, both young and old. 3. Establishment of a periodic health assessment, stratified by sex and age, guiding health behaviors and "self-care" skills. 4. The development of “nursing homes”, providing continuous care, by multi-functional and multidisciplinary teams.
Thus, the reform of the SSB policy of Tunisia, by referring to the Astana declaration and the cumulative national expertise, is essential to revitalize the first line of care and ensure the Tunisian population a "health for all", leaving no one behind”.