K.S.Sanjivi Centenary Year

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Krishnaswami Srinivasa SanjiviKrishnaswami Srinivasa Sanjivi, the founder of VHS, was born in Madras, Tamil Nadu, on 27 December 1903. He had his early education in P.S. High School and Presidency College, Madras. He took his M.B.B.S. degree from Madras Medical College in 1927 and qualified for his M.D. in General Medicine in 1932. He had a distinguished career in the Madras Medical Service in Madanapalle, Madurai, and Madras, specialising in chest diseases. The positions he held included Director of Tuberculosis, Professor of Medicine in Stanley Medical College, Professor of Medicine in Madras Medical College, and First Physician in the Government General Hospital. His diagnostic skills and his teaching abilities were legendary.

Towards the end of his career, Dr. Sanjivi became increasingly concerned about how preventive and curative medical services could be provided to the poor in India. Long before the word entered fashionable language, he set forth his ‘holistic’ approach to health care, key elements of which were:

a) 

emphasis on prevention
b) 

the family as the unit of health care
c) 

community participation in preventive health and in sharing the costs of medical care
d) 

health insurance as a mechanism for meeting the financial burden of medical contingencies that can be heavy and unanticipated
e) 

decentralised health care through community-linked rural health workers in villages
f) 

a crucial role for non-profit voluntary agencies in providing access to high quality medical care for the poor in urban and rural areas
g) 

shramdan by the medical fraternity in giving their time, knowledge, and experience for the poor. 

To put his ideas into action, Dr. Sanjivi took early retirement from the Madras Medical Service in 1958 and started the Voluntary Health Services (VHS). VHS is now commemorating Dr. Sanjivi’s birth centenary. A Committee of Hosts has been formed and, together with the President, Management and Staff of VHS, a year-long calendar of events, from December 2003 to December 2004, has been planned. The celebrations were inaugurated on 28 January 2004 at the VHS campus. Three of Dr. Sanjivi’s students - Drs. K.V. Thiruvengadam, Krishnamoorthy Srinivas, and M.K. Mani - shared their memories of their illustrious teacher. Mr. G. Kasturi, former Editor of The Hindu, released the revised edition of Dr. Sanjivi’s memoirs, Reflections.

The thirteenth K.S. Sanjivi Endowment Lecture, delivered on 2 April 2004, was marked as a special event in this birth centenary year. Ms. Aruna Roy, member of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Rajasthan and winner of the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, talked on Towards a Healthy Democracy: Issues of Transparency and Accountability in Public Health. Mr. K.V. Ramanathan, retired civil servant, presided.

In association with the Tuberculosis Research Centre, Chennai, a symposium on Tuberculosis was held at VHS on 9 July 2004. Ten papers on various aspects of TB were presented by specialists in the field.

Forthcoming events include three more symposiums - on Community Health, on HIV/AIDS, and on Health Security Systems.

The President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam, has kindly agreed to take part in the Valedictory function planned for December 2004.