Health and health services on plantations in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is an example of a country which has achieved impressive improvements in health status since Independence despite its low income per head. However, the improvement has been uneven, with plantations consistently lagging behind. Most of the estate workers in Sri Lanka are Indian Tamils who have traditionally been economically disadvantaged and politically isolated, a pattern which began under the colonial pattern of recruitment and management Poverty, overcrowding, poor water and sanitation and health services were all reflected in the low health status of estate workers and their families. However, since nationalization in 1975, there has been considerable investment on estates and, with the introduction of a uniform health policy designed to meet the needs of estate workers, the health status of workers and their families has dramatically improved. Interventions have included components on housing, water supply and sanitation as well as health and child care and have been planned with the involvement of the workers. The components which have brought about the improvements were specificially designed to meet the needs of plantation workers and developed within a structure quite different from that which applies in rural peasant areas. It is possible that a separate structure responsive to the special problems on estates is needed if Health for All is to be a reality in plantations.

Business · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Estate · Geography · Health care · Peasant · Poverty · Sanitation · Socioeconomics · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Finance · Global Health and Epidemiology · Medicine