Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) President and CEO Dr. Tom Frieden, CPO Amanda McClelland, and Director of Primary Healthcare Dr. Stacey Mearns published a new Viewpoint on primary health care in The Lancet Public Health. It describes how countries can close the implementation gap between what saves lives and what health systems deliver.
Each year, an estimated 8.6 million preventable deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Five million of them happen among people who visit the health system. The abrupt 2025 cut in development assistance for health has disrupted whole systems. Programs for HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health and immunization now need to be integrated into primary health care. New medications, artificial intelligence, telemedicine and connected diagnostics offer more ways to increase its impact.
Key takeaways:
- Prioritized care funds the highest-impact actions first through transparent, nationally owned processes and provides essential medicines free at the point of dispensing.
- Proactive care reaches, tracks and supports patients before and between visits.
- Accountable care monitors success by health outcomes and gives those responsible the authority and resources to improve care.
At any level of investment, primary health care can deliver more health. The Viewpoint offers countries a practical path: decide which outcomes matter most, identify the actions that produce them, strengthen the systems those actions need and monitor progress.
