Community Health

Community health is more important than individual health. An individual of sound health may be infected disease from his neighbor suffering from contagious ailments. And for this reason the modern health administration lays stress on Community Health.
The Pulse Polio program in India is oriented towards community health. Today, a child born in hospital is given polio vaccination. Even then, to keep the community totally free from polio such community health campaign is launched every year. There are a large number of villages and slums where individual infancy vaccination is not available. Pulse polio targets not only those unfortunates, but also others living nearby. The failure of this health administration is largely noticed in Muslim community. Poor Muslims in India are beset with prejudices and thereby prefer to keep away from vaccinations. They are thus the only community offering the most number of polio-affected children in India. Likewise, the Anti-Smoking Groups in western countries also build Community Zones where smoking families are not allowed to settle. These Groups get full support from the respective governments, social welfare organizations and NGOs to carry out their programs. The Health Administration departments of the governments of the developed nations allocate funds for such community health workers.

Community health awareness programs become successful only when enlightened individuals champion their causes. When in India, enlightened and educated Muslims are required to come forward to make their fellow brothers and sisters to get out of their century old prejudices against vaccinations, celebrities in the West must take the mantle to help make the society free from smoking. Such community health programs have got a boost in the West where many health insurance companies debar erring individuals and families from getting medical benefits. Risking profit, the insurance companies have been doing a great service to the society at large.