Community development and its impact on health: South Asian experience

Most South Asian governments have concentrated on emulating a Western style of healthcare service, with the result that an elite few are overmedicalised whereas the majority are neglected. However, community participation in the development of local health services could provide a solution

Despite a remarkable improvement during recent decades in many countries' overall health and nutrition statistics and macro-economic indicators,1 some 10.8 million children aged under 5 years still die annually worldwide, of which 34% occur in South Asia alone.2 It is too simplistic to relate improvements in economic indicators with better health because this does not take account of inequality, change in focus of public health priorities, and, most importantly, the involvement of the community in improving health. This article discusses some of the most prominent examples in South Asia of involvement of the community in planning, managing, and evaluating health projects. However, showing a direct relation between community development and improved health remains a challenge.