Dr Charles Boelen
Steady evolution of health systems towards fulfilling the values of quality, equity, relevance and cost-effectiveness requires coordinated individual and community health activities for a given target population, as well as sustainable partnerships among key stakeholders: policy-makers, health managers, the health professions, academic institutions and communities. This approach is known as "Towards Unity for Health".
To better serve people in rural areas, better use should be made of available human resources. Primary health care teams – of which family physicians or general practitioners are members, if not coordinators – have the potential to address most efficiently the priority health concerns and main health determinants and risks through a multidisciplinary approach. Unity in health actions is not an ideology. It is a practical approach that requires shared values on the part of stakeholders and active research and development for its implementation, as well as political and legislative support.
By using innovative approaches for a more unified health system and documenting its achievements, rural health development may serve as a model for health system reorientation in each country as a whole.