[Preventive aspects and problems of a rural health project in Chad--the need for health motivation]

Some of the main difficulties encountered in health work in developing countries depend on the sociocultural conditions. Health animatiod until now) of rural health care. Its implementation requires the training and recycling of existing health personnel as well as of parts of the population. It includes the concept of "barefoot doctor", which corresponds well to the prevailing priority health needs. One should note potential difficulties, however, for example in regard to the way the barefoot doctor is to be remunerated (the author discusses some possibilities). It isn't easy either, in practice, to mobilize the community through health education and to obtain its participation in prevention and health promotion measures. The crucial element is to win its confidence. The author describes his practical experiences in Chad in this respect. Health animation stimulates the responsabilization and the development of a prospective outlook in people, and can thus make an important contribution to their overall development efforts. It is necessary to fight factors which slow down such an evolution, among which certain habits as well as obstacles of an administrative nature.