A/HRC/7/11 page 7 private and voluntary sectors. Many health systems have gone through several, sometimes parallel and competing, generations of development and reform, shaped by national and international values and goals. 21. One of the first attempts to unify thinking about health within a single policy framework was embodied in the Declaration of Alma-Ata on primary health care, agreed by Ministers of Health from throughout the world and adopted on 12 September 1978 at the International Conference on Primary Health Care. This seminal Declaration does not seek to address health systems in their entirety;7 instead, it focuses on some vital components of an effective health system and still remains very relevant to health systems strengthening. 22. The Declaration begins by affirming that the attainment of the highest possible level of health is a fundamental human right. Several principal themes recur throughout the Declaration, all of which are relevant to health systems in both developed and developing countries:8 (a) The importance of equity; (b) The need for community participation; (c) The need for a multisectoral approach to health problems; (d) The need for effective planning; (e) The importance of integrated referral systems; (f) An emphasis on health-promotional activities; (g) The critical role of suitably trained human resources; (h) The importance of international cooperation. 23. In addition to these themes, the Declaration highlights a number of essential health interventions: (a) Education concerning prevailing health problems; (b) Promotion of food supply and proper nutrition; (c) Adequate supply of safe water and basic sanitation; 7 For a broader approach, see The World Health Report 2000 - Health Systems: Improving Performance, WHO, 2000. 8 This passage draws extensively on A. Green, An Introduction to Health Planning for Developing Health Systems, Oxford University Press, 2007, pp. 63-64.