Abstract: This oration in Dr. Ravi Narayan’s story telling style will share nuggets from the collective journey of a growing group of medical and health professionals and activists, who from the early 1970’S began to more beyond the bio-medical-techno-managerial paradigm of Medicine and Hospital based professional care to a vision and praxis of a new paradigm of Social and Community health. In this paradigm people and communities are not just patients, users, clients, and beneficiaries but active participants and co-creators of an equity and people-oriented health system that is guaranteed in the Right to Life in our Constitution.
The challenge for these early action innovators, was to build these rooted in their professional training but adapting to the social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental context of the areas they worked in. It also involved dialogue with the social and cultural health traditions of the communities in a spirit of learning. In 1978, the WHO brought 125 counties together to evolve and sign the Alma Ata declaration building on the praxis of these initial visionaries at both country and community level and with the goal of Primary Health Care for All by 2000.
By 2000, it was evident that this goal was far from being reached because of the distortions creeping into country and global policies by the increasing forces of commodification and commercialization of medical practice and health policy. These innovators grouped into several local, national and international networks and associations came together at a Global People’s Health Assembly in Bangladesh to reiterate this social and ethical goal for Health For All in a Global People’s Charter for Health. This Charter translated into over 40 languages has evolved into a movement in over 80 countries. The orator was deeply involved in this whole movement, as a community innovator, networker and facilitator of learning with SOCHARA colleagues - a network association which has nearly a 1000 people in different capacities linked to it. The oration will include how Prof. Ravi Kapur and several other professionals from many academic and research institutions influenced and joined hands with the movement in solidarity or as active participants. The oration aims to reach gen-next researchers, academics, and activists with an invitation for solidarity and participation in this new paradigm.
About the speaker: Dr. Ravi Narayan, a Community Health professional; national and global Health Policy Activist, has been deeply involved in promoting a social and community-oriented paradigm in Health and Health care moving beyond the bio-medical-techno-managerial model that still dominates medical practice. After a initial academic, teaching and research career for a decade with St. John’s Medical College, in 1984 he co-initiated - the Society for Community Health Awareness, Research and Action (SOCHARA) with several colleagues. He and his colleagues in SOCHARA and collaborating health professionals and activists from several institutions and networks have evolved concepts such as Social Vaccines; ‘Communitization’ in Health care (now a NRHM principle); Globalization of Health solidarity from below; SEPCE Analysis in Health Policy and Epidemiology and so on. All this helps in our understanding of the multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral and even trans-disciplinary nature of Health and Health Care systems. Along with several colleagues, networks and associates – a global People’s Health Movement that is committed to the Health For All Goal and the Right to health and a Global People’s Health Charter was evolved in the year 2000. He lead the PHM Secretariat for five years during which he engaged with WHO, WHO-SEARO, WHO-PAHO, World Bank, BMJ, Global Forum for Health Research and shared this new paradigm. These concepts are now beginning to percolate due to SOCHARA’s engagements with Planning Commission (now Niti Ayog); Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the NRHM; State Health Departments and Policies and slowly seeping into academia.
During Dr. Narayan’s Community Health Journey of over five decades, he has had unique associations with inspiring academics like Prof. Ravi Kapur and many others - whom he considers his mentor buddies that have helped influenced this paradigm shift. It also helped in collaboration with many institutions including NIMHANS, NIAS and more recently PHFI, TDU, RGUHS, TISS, APU, JNU, and MLCU - so that the bridge between alternative paradigms and the mainstream is increasingly being bridged. The ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’ of a new public health paradigm which includes community empowerment and system development has also been shared by him in Academic Institutions all over the world - to help change the dominant view especially of public health to a more social and plural perspective that builds on Global South praxis and wisdom.
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ALL ARE WELCOME
For further details, please contact: Dr. M B Rajani <mbrajani@nias.res.in>