Countries reconnect medicine with social needs

Health leaders discussed funding, research and accountability for ending TB.

The 2018 pledges were policy commitments, not proof that tuberculosis had ended.

Governments endorsed a declaration committing to stronger primary health care.

The new declaration followed the 1978 commitment to health for all.

Delegates placed community-based primary care at the centre of health-system plans.

Children began receiving the RTS,S vaccine through a routine immunization pilot.

The pilot tested how to provide a new prevention tool through existing health services.

RTS,S supplemented other preventive measures such as insecticide-treated nets.

The pilot monitored safety and impact before later recommendations for wider use.

Publication date: WHO released its Global Report on Traditional and Complementary Medicine 2019 to address gaps in official country data.