EMPOWERMENT OF RURAL MASSES IN HEALTH SECTOR

<p class="Bodytext21">The health status of 80% population residing in rural areas has not improved to desired goals from the basic health services provided to them. Local people have remained indifferent to them. They should be equal partners in the management of health services operating in their areas, therefore, a process needs to be designed to create conditions to know of economic, social and health problems for the whole community with their active participation and fullest possible relience upon the communities initiative to solve them.</p><p class="Bodytext21">A community development programme was launched on 2nd Oct. 1952 in first five year plan and was hailed as a programme "of the people, for the people, by the people" to exterminate the triple enemies - poverty illness and ignorance. The community development programmes were envisaged as a multipurpose programme cordinated for agriculture, social welfare, education and health. .</p><p class="Bodytext21">It is currently recognized that despite of expansion of the primary health care infra structure upto village level, a comprehensive and effective approach to community health has not been yet achieved. Local community is not sufficiently involved in its own health care, consequently the impact in terms of community health remains small. A comprehensive and integrated approach to community health for population control and response to family welfare planning depends more than any other factor but on an assurance of survival of the children and by creating the right environment for small family norms. All this and change in attitude for the desire of a male child and improvement in low status of women is possible by community itself. Low rate of literacy in women, early marriage of girls are seriously impending the