"Two roads diverged in a wood and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference."
- Robert Frost 1920
I took the one less traveled by,
and that has made all the difference."
- Robert Frost 1920
“I slept and dreamed that life was a joy. I awoke up and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy” Rabindranath Tagore
Surinder Kaul
New Updates:
Power of information in facilitating Universal Health Coverage from Primary Health Care is the first in the series to follow.
NB: This site was first published in July 2018. I would very much welcome any feedback for its continued improvements. Kindly go to the last page, Get in Touch, and complete a short survey. Thanks.
- Start of new series: First comprehensive piece on Power of Information, June 4, 2020 (below)
Power of information in facilitating Universal Health Coverage from Primary Health Care is the first in the series to follow.
- Jeffery Robinson, on racial justice. Food for thought https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOPGpE-sXh0
- Spring is here (3 May 2020) Other Interests > Bird Watching > Spring is here...
- Hug Farm > Bird watching Under other interests > Bird Watching > Lesser Whistling-ducks in Chiang Mai. (February 2020)
- Feel of Srilanka > Other Interests > Travelling (13-27 January, 2020);
- Fauna in Srilanks > Other Interests > Bird watching
- North Sumatra (November 4, 2019)
- Down Memory Lane. Under Other Interests > Photography (1 September, 2019)
NB: This site was first published in July 2018. I would very much welcome any feedback for its continued improvements. Kindly go to the last page, Get in Touch, and complete a short survey. Thanks.
Public Health Consultant
I am a public health physician with special interest in mother and child. Literature is full of evidence that if a girl child is nurtured with love and care, she grows into a woman, who in turn transfers the same love to her children; eventually responsible adults emerge contributing to a just society.
Public health has fascinated me. It is a hobby to me, not just a job. I can't believe I will ever have to retire!
The sole purpose of this website is to share my life’s experiences in Public Health with the hope that visitors to site may find some useful information for their own endeavors. An opportunity may also arise for a dialogue on some of the issues and possibility of further development of ideas and the solutions.
I was born and grew up in the Indian Himalayas, studied in Christian Medical College, Vellore, South India. I am fortunate to have worked as a public health consultant in more than 12 countries for the past 46 years. Presently, I work as a public health adviser to Lesotho Highlands Development Authority, Maseru, Lesotho.
I live in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Part of the reason for engaging in this exercise is also to keep my mind occupied with all past experiences; and how it may influence the present and the future, which belongs to the generations to come.
Public health has fascinated me. It is a hobby to me, not just a job. I can't believe I will ever have to retire!
The sole purpose of this website is to share my life’s experiences in Public Health with the hope that visitors to site may find some useful information for their own endeavors. An opportunity may also arise for a dialogue on some of the issues and possibility of further development of ideas and the solutions.
I was born and grew up in the Indian Himalayas, studied in Christian Medical College, Vellore, South India. I am fortunate to have worked as a public health consultant in more than 12 countries for the past 46 years. Presently, I work as a public health adviser to Lesotho Highlands Development Authority, Maseru, Lesotho.
I live in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Part of the reason for engaging in this exercise is also to keep my mind occupied with all past experiences; and how it may influence the present and the future, which belongs to the generations to come.
This week: Old Items: Home > Old Items.
Information, Primary Health Care and Universal Health Coverage
Abstract
The importance of strengthening Primary Health Care (PHC) has been repeatedly emphasised and re-emphasised. Yet PHC is understood and practiced largely as first level illness care. All preventive measures are addressed as separate entities under vertical programmes. Thus, resources invested into a single-disease project divert resources from PHC and the strengthening of the health systems, away from addressing determinants of health. Conflicts of interests do not allow development of comprehensive PHC. Universal health coverage is attainable if Information Technology is appropriately used in PHC. Focus needs to be placed on the maternal and child health care, as interventions to this group is most cost effective and has life-long positive impacts, even for future generations. Midwives, and the antenatal care they provide, are crucial to preventing the complications of pregnancy that lead to maternal and child mortality. These comprehensive roles have been inadequately recognised in a conclusion of the Lancet 2014 Midwifery Series, and remains relevant today. Moreover, women and children are the largest sub-set of any population served by primary care providers. Self-organised communities receiving reproductive and child health, including growth monitoring, can change the face of PHC and thus the state of health in a population. Advances in Information Technology available today and its appropriate use by the health care providers and the public, facilitates to attain Universal Health Coverage.
Go to Full Article
Discussion on the article is encouraged.
This page will continue to discuss public health issues in future articles.
Please write to: mail@surinderkaul.com
Abstract
The importance of strengthening Primary Health Care (PHC) has been repeatedly emphasised and re-emphasised. Yet PHC is understood and practiced largely as first level illness care. All preventive measures are addressed as separate entities under vertical programmes. Thus, resources invested into a single-disease project divert resources from PHC and the strengthening of the health systems, away from addressing determinants of health. Conflicts of interests do not allow development of comprehensive PHC. Universal health coverage is attainable if Information Technology is appropriately used in PHC. Focus needs to be placed on the maternal and child health care, as interventions to this group is most cost effective and has life-long positive impacts, even for future generations. Midwives, and the antenatal care they provide, are crucial to preventing the complications of pregnancy that lead to maternal and child mortality. These comprehensive roles have been inadequately recognised in a conclusion of the Lancet 2014 Midwifery Series, and remains relevant today. Moreover, women and children are the largest sub-set of any population served by primary care providers. Self-organised communities receiving reproductive and child health, including growth monitoring, can change the face of PHC and thus the state of health in a population. Advances in Information Technology available today and its appropriate use by the health care providers and the public, facilitates to attain Universal Health Coverage.
Go to Full Article
Discussion on the article is encouraged.
This page will continue to discuss public health issues in future articles.
Please write to: mail@surinderkaul.com