Biomedical approach cannot deal with India’s public health problems, says health activist

Doctors have been “dumped” as a people’s public health movement aimed at challenging the traditional biomedical model of healthcare grows across India, one of its leading supporters has claimed on a visit to the United Kingdom.

Ravi Narayan, a public health consultant, said, “The exciting changes we see are taking place in spite of the medical profession. Public health is too important to be left to doctors.”

He and his wife, Thelma Narayan, held a seminar at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on developments in India’s public health systems. They are both alumni of the school, public health specialists, and leading …