Primary Health Care in Developing Countries Essay

Primary Health Care in Developing Countries - Essay Example Primary health care is essential health care made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community by means acceptable to them, through their full participation and at a cost that the community and country can afford. It forms an integral part both of the country's health system of which it is the nucleus and of the overall social and economic development of the community (WHO). It values to achieve health for all and requires health systems that "Put people at the centre of health care"1. To achieve this, there is a need to understand citizen's expectation of health and health care and to see to it that their voice and choice decisively influences the way in which health services are designed and operated. The Alma Ata Declaration in 1978 gave an insight into the understanding of primary health care. It mobilized a "Primary Health Care movement" of professionals and institutions, governments and civil society organizations, researchers and grassroots organizations that undertook to tackle the "politically, socially and economically unacceptable"2 health inequalities in all countries. It viewed health as an integral part of the socio-economic development of a country. It provided the most holistic understanding to health and the framework that States needed to pursue to achieve the goals of development. The Declaration recommended that primary health care should include at least: education concerning prevailing health problems and methods of identifying, preventing and controlling them; promotion of food supply and proper nutrition, and adequate supply of safe water and basic sanitation; maternal and child health care, including family planning; immunization against major infectious di seases; prevention and control of locally endemic diseases; appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries; promotion of mental health and provision of essential drugs. It emphasized the need for strong first-level care with strong secondary- and tertiary-level care linked to it. It called for an integration of preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative health services that had to be made accessible and available to the people, and this was to be guided by the principles of universality, comprehensiveness and equity. In one sense, primary health care reasserted the role and responsibilities of the State, and recognized that health is influenced by a multitude of factors and not just the health services. It also recognized the need for a multi-sectoral approach to health and clearly stated that primary health care had to be linked to other sectors. At the same time, the Declaration emphasized on complete and organized community participation, and ultimate self-reliance with individuals, families and communities assuming more responsibility for their own health, facilitated by support from groups such as the local government, agencies, local leaders, voluntary groups, youth and women's groups, consumer groups, other non-governmental organizations, etc. The Declaration affirmed the need for a balanced distribution of available resources (WHO 1978). THE INDIAN SCENARIO Demographic, Social and