The training of front line health personnel--a crucial factor in development.

The front line elements in health services - the primary care health personnel - can play an important part in the development of those services but also in the development of the community in which they work and therefore of the country as a whole. Clearly all health personnel contribute to development but it is worth noting the privileged position of front line personnel who live among the people and meet their basic health needs. This position and the respect that often goes with it give health personnel a largely or totally unexploited field of influence and action reaching far beyond the sphere of health. Its exploitation would benefit both the community and the health workers themselves who may discover a new personal interest a source of additional motivation even a new ideal. (authors)