Primary Healthcare Practice in Developing Countries

Running head: PRIMARY HEALTHCARE PRACTICE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 1
Primary Healthcare Practice in Developing Countries
Name
Institution

PRIMARY HEALTHCARE PRACTICE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 2
Primary Healthcare Practice in Developing Countries
Aim
 Demonstrate an understanding of the principles and processes involved in participatory
planning.
In this respect, there was a need to adjust the focus of the program again to a more organized
action with an aim of defending the basic needs and rights of people
Objectives
 How needs were assessed and changes over time in needs assessment
 Who participated in the program and who may not have participated
 How issues of inequity were addressed or not addressed
 The extent to which processes and actions were congruent with principles and processes
of participatory planning
Introduction
In essence, project Piaxtla is a rather rural primary health-care program that was set in
western Mexico and is run entirely by local villagers. Apparently, the program was set to serve a
larger and rugged sparsely populous area in the state of Sinaloa. However, in recent times these
areas have been traversed by mule trails as well as footpaths. This program was designed to
function in Ajoya which is considered one of the largest areas in the entire of Piaxtla.
Noteworthy, the program involved David Werner as an advisor as well as facilitator since the
initiative took off.
The program was started when the disease of poverty had taken a high notch in the area
and dominated the health scene. In this light, there were reported cases of children dying of
chronic undernutrition as well as diarrhea and infectious diseases even before they hit age five.
Nonetheless, there were cases where seven in ten women complained of anemic while ten could

PRIMARY HEALTHCARE PRACTICE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 3
die after giving birth. This problem spread widely as a result of inequitable distribution of
resources such as the land, wealth, as well as power. Most of the families in this area owned
either littler piece of land. In case these families owned land, then it was basically of inferior
quality. In the contrary, small portion of people were regarded as rich and therefore owned large
tracks of lands which were fertile as well as huge herds of cattle. In essence, this community was
in full control of the entire community doings. They were responsible of blocking any fruitful
demands by the poor people of their constitutional rights to own land and therefore started
violence any time whenever they wanted to keep up their dominant position in the society. In this
regard, the issue surrounding land distribution has been a critical issue for the last couple of
decades now. It was until recently that the Mexican agrarian reforms legislations which then
could include. This system would then involve the group of villages joining together to form
what is rather called the communal landholding or the ejido.
Question for Reflection
Primarily, the development project had one of the best politically both right and left,
therefore, encouraging a rather personal incentive as well as a higher production of the overall
private ownership yet guaranteeing equity of land ownership. Nonetheless, the system has
managed to work more in a theoretical manner rather than factual. The project is therefore
designed and managed in a formal plan to curb the level of poverty in the society with an aim of
bettering the overall health care of the poor families and level them with the rich families in the
society. Additionally, the program did involve a wider range of stakeholders to make sure that it
was successful particularly making sure that all the required information is available. From the
level of my experience, I foresee plenty of challenges in making the program a success
considering the fact that it is likely to receive opposition from the rich families.

PRIMARY HEALTHCARE PRACTICE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 4
How needs were assessed and changes over time in needs assessment
Essentially, the project is set to improve the overall health to evolve in different phases
often referred to as the three phases. We ensured that the project had no political agendas
particularly in the earlier stages but then focused on a rather curative care that is considered as
the main and immediate needs of the people. Those people that are tasked at promoting the
village health were trained by the use of a participatory which included leaning by doing
methods. Through doing this, they would be competent especially in treating common diseases
as well as injuries. As time went on, we became more aware of the recurring nature of the same
illness. To respond to this issue, there has been a shift of focus to a rather preventive as well as
promotive measures which includes immunizations water system and latrines. As a result there
were reduction of such ailment particularly during the second phase of the designed program and
therefore the overall health improved drastically (Westrup, 2017). Apparently, few children died
of whooping cough and fewer were affected by polio. Nonetheless, there were still cases of
women and children who were malnourished particularly during dry seasons where harvests
were little.
Additionally, mortality rates among children from a poor background especially those
that were landless, and underpaid, underserved remained high. In this respect, there was a need
to adjust the focus of the program again to a more organized action with an aim of defending the
basic needs and rights of people. Notably, this enabled the village health program to develop and
take a notch higher from a rather creative care to a more inclined to preventative as well as
promotive measures in a more sophisticated action. A more learner-centered, problem-solving
approach to health education partly resulted in a rather shift of the main focus of the program
from a more conventional one to an organized action plan.