Page 259 - Health, Population and Environment Education 9

Summary

1. Primary health care (PHC) is an essential health care made universally accessible to
individuals and acceptable to them.
2. Primary health care is an approach to health beyond the traditional health care
system that focuses on health equality producing social policy.
3. The ultimate goal of primary health care is the attainment of better health services
for all.
4. Primary Health Care (PHC) is the heart and soul of medicine. It is the foundation
of every health care system: the first contact and ongoing link between people and
their health providers.

5. Primary health care provides community based, multidisciplinary, patient centered
care with a focus on both the treatment and prevention of various conditions.
6. PHC provides health services by trained health assistant, (HA), community medical
assistants, nurses, midwives, etc. at local level.
7. Maternal and child health care and family planning also fall under the elements of
primary health care.
8. The threat of damage, injury, loss or any other impact caused by vulnerabilities is
called risk.
9. A natural or man-made situation that possesses threat to lives and properties in
environment is called a hazard.
10. When the hazards come to their extremity, they become active and show their
dangerous and devastating nature by claiming lives and properties.
11. The conditions or situations that can cause the body physical harm or inverse stress
are called physical hazards.
12. The chemical substances that create threat in environment and harm lives, properties
and environment are called chemical hazards.
13. The biological agents that can cause risk in living beings are called biological
hazards. Such hazards are bacteria, viruses, fungi, foreign toxin, etc.

14. The hazards which occur in nature due to the natural processes are called natural
hazards.
15. The hazards which occur as a result of human activities are called man-made
hazards.
16. An event that occurs suddenly and affects life and property is called a disaster.
17. The natural events that occur suddenly and cause loss of life and property are called
natural disasters.
18. The disasters that occur due to human activities are called human induced disasters.
19. The disasters that commonly occur in Nepal are flood, landslide, forest fire, storm,
glacial lake outburst, epidemics, lightning, earthquake, etc.

20. An earthquake is the sudden shaking of the earth’s surface.
GREEN Environment Population and Health Education Book-9 259