[Pillars and lines of action for integrated and people- and community-centered health systemsPilares e linhas de ação para sistemas integrados de saúde centrados nas pessoas e nas comunidades].

This paper presents the position of the Latin American working group of the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC). The working group brings together various Latin American actors and organizations in support of actions that facilitate the transformation of health systems in the region towards integrated systems that focus on people not as isolated individuals but as subjects of law in the complex social and environmental contexts where they live and interact. The working group proposes nine pillars of integrated care to be used as a conceptual framework for policy development and changes in practices: 1) shared vision and values; 2) population health; 3) people and communities as partners; 4) resilient communities; 5) capacities of human resources for health; 6) governance and leadership; 7) digital solutions; 8) aligned payment systems; and 9) public transparency.

[Training of human resources for universal health: strategic actions from academic institutions].

The challenge of moving towards the right to health for all -through the strategies for universal access to health and universal health coverage (universal health)- requires multiple conditions and actions. One of them is to have sufficient health workers, well distributed and with the skills and motivation needed for the transformation of health services and to provide comprehensive and quality responses to people and their communities. This article presents the results of a dialogue between academics from universities in the Americas, and reflects on four essential dimensions: planning, interprofessional training, social responsibility of academic centers, and the use of models of teaching-service-research.

[Primary health care in the Region of the Americas 40 years after the Alma-Ata DeclarationAtenção primária à saúde na Região das Américas 40 anos após a Declaração de Alma-Ata].

This article reviews the evolution of regional proposals and agreements from the Declaration of Alma-Ata (1978) to the Universal Health Strategy, highlighting how the core tenets of the primary health care strategy have come to be reflected in proposals to strengthen the primary level of care and establish integrated health services networks. Contextual aspects of implementing the strategy within the framework of complex national scenarios are also noted, through a review of some of the milestones of the last 40 years. Factors that hinder implementation of primary health care are described, as well as the advances and the emerging challenges that health systems face in several countries.