standardized primary health assessment instrument All people, everywhere, deserve the right care, right in their community. This is the fundamental premise of primary health care. Primary health care (PHC) addresses the majority of a person’s health needs throughout their lifetime. This includes physical, mental and social well-being and it is people-centred rather than disease-centred. PHC is a whole-of-society approach that includes health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care. A primary health care approach includes three components: meeting people’s health needs throughout their lives; addressing the broader determinants of health through multisectoral policy and action; and empowering individuals, families and communities to take charge of their own health. By providing care in the community as well as care through the community, PHC addresses not only individual and family health needs, but also the broader issue of public health and the needs of defined populations. The principles of PHC were first outlined in the Declaration of Alma-Ata in 1978, a seminal milestone in global health. Forty years later, global leaders ratified the Declaration of Astana at the Global Conference on Primary Health Care which took place in Astana, Kazakhstan in October 2018. PHC, because it is about how best to provide health care and services to everyone, everywhere, is the most efficient and effective way to achieve health for all.