The roles of academic institutions in the pursuit of equity in health

The basic question is: to what extent should academic institutions become engaged in dealing with the health problems and health system problems of their society? Health for all and primary health care contain the principles on which approaches to national need can be based. But how valid are these concepts and how appropriate is it for academic institutions to link their missions with them? This article presents recent thinking on health for all, primary health care, and the roles of academic institutions in relation to them, and provides an example of an institution, the Aga Khan University in Pakistan, that has made such a commitment. -Authors