ABSTRACT
The development of compulsory health insurance crystallised the separation in most countries. The Alma Ata conference urged that priority should be given to those who are least able for geographical, political, social or financial reasons to take the initiative in seeking health care. The aim is that health resources should be equitably distributed. This is of critical importance for primary health care. Equity in health services can provide some compensation for inequalities elsewhere in the society, and health services can bring tangible benefits to rural populations which cannot as rapidly be achieved in other sectors. An increasing number of developed countries are using different types of population-based formulas to distribute resources for health. Community participation is the process by which individuals and families assume responsibility for their own health and welfare and for those of the community, and develop the capacity to contribute to their own and their community’s development’.
