Primary health care and child survival in India

The Primary Health Care (PHC) has been globally promoted as a comprehensive approach to achieve optimal health status and 'Health for all'. The PHC approach, although, initially received the attention but failed to meet the expectations of the people in India. The child health programs in India had been started for long as verticals programs, which later on integrated and had been planned in a way to deliver the services through the PHC systems. Nevertheless, the last decade has witnessed many new initiatives for improving child health, specially; a number of strategies under National Rural Health Mission have been implemented to improve child survival--Skilled Birth Attendant and Emergency Obstetric Care, Home Based Newborn Care, Sick newborn care units, Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses, strengthening Immunization services, setting up Nutritional rehabilitation centers etc. However, for a large proportion of rural population, an effective and efficient PHC system is the only way for service delivery, which still needs more attention. The authors note that although there have been improvements in infrastructure, community level health workers, and availability of the funding etc., the areas like community participation, district level health planning, data for action, inter-sectoral coordination, political commitment, public private partnership, accountability, and the improving health work force and need immediate attention, to strengthen the PHC system in the country, making it more child friendly and contributory in child survival, in India.