An Institutional Perspective on Provision of Primary Health Care in India and Bangladesh

Editors: Alia Ahmad and N. Lalitha

An Institutional Perspective on Provision of Primary Health Care in India and Bangladesh provides a comprehensive examination of the institutional challenges and opportunities involved in delivering accessible, affordable, and high-quality primary health care services in India and Bangladesh. Edited by Alia Ahmad and N. Lalitha, the book explores the responsibilities of governments, local institutions, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in strengthening public health care systems.

Primary health care is widely recognized as a fundamental public sector responsibility. However, ensuring universal access and effective service delivery remains a significant challenge, particularly in developing countries. The book highlights how inadequate financial resources, weak institutional structures, poor management, and limited accountability contribute to gaps in health care provision.

Drawing on experiences from India and Bangladesh, the volume investigates the role of central governments in decentralizing health care responsibilities to local administrative bodies and NGOs. It examines the potential of public-private partnerships (PPPs), community participation, and grassroots organizations in improving health care accessibility and efficiency.

Special attention is given to social accountability, citizen participation, and the importance of strengthening relationships between health care providers, communities, and government institutions. The book also discusses the role of local governance, including Panchayats and community-based organizations, in addressing public health challenges related to sanitation, nutrition, maternal health, and child welfare.

Through institutional analysis and country-specific perspectives, this publication offers valuable insights into improving health care governance, enhancing service delivery, and developing sustainable primary health care systems.

This book is an essential resource for public health professionals, policymakers, development economists, researchers, academicians, NGOs, and students interested in health policy, institutional development, public administration, and social welfare in South Asia.

About the Editors

Alia Ahmad is a former associate professor in the Department of Economics at Lund University, Sweden. Her academic work includes development economics, gender studies, economic growth in South Asia, and environmental issues in developing countries. She has authored books on agriculture and population growth in Bangladesh and has edited research on community management of inland fisheries in India and Bangladesh.

N. Lalitha is a professor of economics at the Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad. Her research focuses on access to medicines, agricultural biotechnology, intellectual property rights, pharmaceuticals, and public health. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed academic journals and coedited a book examining intellectual property, pharmaceuticals, and public health.

Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9788171889600

• ISBN-10: 8171889603

• Publisher: Academic Foundation

• Publication Date: 1 January 2013

• Edition: 1st Edition

• Language: English

• Binding: Hardcover

• Pages: 242

• Item Weight: 499 g

• Dimensions: 15.88 × 2.29 × 23.5 cm

• Country of Origin: India