Primary Health Care

We will provide you with 5 simple principles of community development while you can expand your understanding of these principles by visiting this site and this one for starters. We encourage others to bring their insights, articles, texts, or websites to this site for sharing, contributing in building this vision, one that targets bringing social justice on a global scale.

In quick reflection, principles of community development are inclusive of but not limited to:

1. Connective processes- could be individuals, families, community members, partnering agencies, those in health, social service and education sectors, service organization, faith communities, and municipal, provincial and national governments.
2. Collaboration- once coming together, setting personal or organizational agendas, turfism and/or territorial tendencies aside, all parties agree to participate for the greater good of society. A “shared-care”, and shared governace structure needs to be the mandate for all sectors, this demands a re-oroentation of current health care hierachies.
3. Empowerment- this can only come with equity, education and emancipation for all individuals and groups in society. Barriers must be removed that have been constructed through gender and race bias, religious domination of others from different cultures, new immigrants and those living in poverty must be prioritized, for removal of the many barriers to their empowerment to be realized.
4. Advocacy- All professionals and persons in government must recognize the nature of their existence, to serve the public. The most marginalized in society, those you struggle with language or literacy issues, those who are living with a disability or their caregiver and those of advancing age and potential infirmities, must have a voice, and a support system, that enacts or engages “the system” on behalf of those less fortunate.
5. Organizational actions- governmental action must be timely and consistent. This includes al levels of government, municipal, provincial (state) and Federal. Corporations and businesses must act on their social responsibility and public accoutability mandates. Corporations, are the collective power that can bring social justice, or leave a legacy of exploitation and lack of citizenry.

Welcome to a site, that provides insight. The World Health Organization (WHO) nearly 30 years ago, began to define “primary health care“. We will soon recognize the twenty years anniversary of expansion of the vision of equitable health across the social and economic sectors, through the writing and release of the Ottawa Charter of Health Promotion. We share the passion of many to see social justice come to the world in our lifetime. We can leave a positive legacy, if we strengthen the commitment to the principles of primary health care and community development. Please see the page that further describes these principles, here.