The 1979 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership

RESPONSE of Rajanikant Shankarrao Arole

My wife and I wish to express our warmest and humblest thanks for honoring us with this eminent Ramon Magsaysay Award. We hope we will be able to bring further distinction to such recognition.

In Asia and the rest of the world, positive strides have been made in the fields of medicine and science. We witness the magnificent feat of men living in environments alien to us in yesteryears. It is commonplace for us to hear of man conducting experiments in the far-reaching dimensions of space and in the depths of our oceans. We have developed technology of such sophistication that now it is possible to replace diseased body organs. There appears to be no limit to making all our imaginings realities (given enough of that precious commodity—time). But as we slowly lower our eyes from the dazzling heights of man's achievements, our sight will fall on the ugliest of scars of mankind's workmanship—poverty and disease. Statisticians enjoy playing the numbers game with lives in our Asian villages. It throws up the frequency of births, deaths and diseases, but hides the stark reality of suffering and deprivation.

Optimum health is the right of every individual and we possess more than enough knowledge to make this right a reality. Knowledge is the total accumulation of all the efforts of mankind over the past decades. No single profession or group can claim a monopoly on this market. It should be available to all, but in the very name of protecting the people, this trust of knowledge is withheld from them. Presently in Asia large sections of the population are deprived of the benefits acquired from this common pool of knowledge, which leads us to pose painful questions. What hinders the available medical care from reaching these people? Is it the monetary cost involved? If this is so, what causes the high cost? If this care is so far removed from the common people, are we failing in our responsibility? We must search into these questions objectively and try to answer them in a dispassionate manner. We know that morbidity and mortality in rural areas are closely related to basic health problems caused by inadequate food, a polluted water supply, poor sanitation and man's inability to equalize distribution. Today we commit the great crime of allowing malnourished children and adults to succumb to diarrhea and tuberculosis, major killers. Why should a mother lose her life due to tetanus or sepsis? We possess enough knowledge and machinery to prevent such wastage of lives, and we can be certain that there is no dearth of village people to help in this task. So why do these tragedies continue? There appear to be certain cliques that monopolize knowledge, technology and remedies that are vital to the very survival of human life. If the common man is allowed access to these resources, the predictions of a doomed future would rapidly change.

Poor, illiterate people are like rough diamonds hidden under dirt and stone. Given the opportunity, they can reach their full potential— a potential as great as is possible for you and me. Just because facilities of schools and universities are inaccessible to them we are mistaken in labeling them unintelligent. "Ignorant" is the word to use here as this denotes deprivation of knowledge. The villagers are capable of learning and utilizing skills for the betterment of life. All that is necessary on our part is sharing our "trust of knowledge" with them. They have the potential to be responsible, sensitive human beings, possessing the qualities for self-reliance, and able to shed old customs and traditions that impede forward development. We just need to exercise patience and care in working with them.

Why are people still imprisoned in the shackles of bondage? They should be able to decide who controls knowledge and how it should be utilized for the positive progression of mankind. We must make available to them the means to gain access to, and control over, their own health care. I must ask myself if I am consciously or unconsciously involved in this obstruction and how I can facilitate the services reaching those in most need. I believe, both as a humanitarian and as a physician, that qualities of independence and self-reliance should be encouraged and nurtured in regard to people's health care, and to this end my wife and I are channeling our efforts.

At this point Arnold Toynbee's words echo through my mind: "The twentieth century will be remembered chiefly, not as an age of political conflicts and technical inventions, but as an age in which human society dared to think of the health of the whole human race as a practical objective."