Page 240 - Health, Population and Environment Education 9

vi. Control and prevention of endemic and contagious diseases.
vii. Vaccination against infectious diseases.
viii. Health education.

A brief description of each of the elements of primary health care is given below:

1. Safe drinking water and basic sanitation

In order to live a healthy life, there should be adequate supply of safe drinking water
Various diseases like typhoid, hepatitis, diarrhea, dysentery, cholera, etc. are transmitted
through contaminated water. If drinking water is not safe and pure, people suffer from
various diseases. Personal hygiene and environmental sanitation remain incomplete in
the absence of pure and clean water Many insects and germs grow in dirty environment.
Therefore, adequate supply of safe drinking water and environmental sanitation are basis
elements of primary health care.

2. Provision of proper nutrients
Consumption of health and nutritions food is essential
to live a healthy life. We cannot achieve good health
without having balanced diet. Adequate supply of
food and arrangement of nutrients are important to
prepare balanced diet. Due to malnutritions, people
become weak and suffer from various diseases like
anaemia, scurvy, marasmus, night blindness, etc.
Therefore, provision of proper nutrients is considered Fig: 2
as another element of primary health care. Balanced diet

3. Proper treatment of minors diseases injuries

People suffer from minor diseases and injuries like fever, headache, cuts, scratches, minor
burns, diarrhea dysentery, cough, common cold, stomach ache, Sprain, round worm
infection, etc. If minor diseases and injuries are not treated on time, they become servere
and may be life- threatening. There fore proper treatment of minor diseases and injuries
is considered as one of the elements of primary health care.

4. Provision of essential drugs
Management of essential drugs is another element of primary health care. Primary health
centres, health posts and sub-health posts distribute essential medicines to the patients
free of cost. At present, 135 types of essential medicines are distributed free of cost to
the patients through primary health centres, health posts and sub- health posts. There
medicines are essential to cure simple and common disease like fever, headache, diarrhea,
dysentery, cough and cold, cuts, wound etc.

240 GREEN Environment Population and Health Education Book-9