In this book the problems of primary health care and child survival in underprivileged countries and communities are explored. Divided into four parts this book focuses on diarrheal disease in exploring the complex determinants of child health and quality of life. Part 1 presents a brief historical overview of health services from colonial times until the 1970s. It discusses the concept of Primary Health Care as formulated in 1978 at Alma Ata. In Part 2 as a case study the authors show how marketing Oral Rehydration Therapy as a commercial product has turned this potentially life-saving technology into yet another way of exploiting and further impoverishing the poor. Part 3 looks at the determinants of population health from a historical and contemporary perspective. Part 4 concludes with a few examples of equity-seeking health-promoting initiatives. These range from programs focusing on specific urgent health problems (such as diarrhea and undernutrition) to comprehensive efforts which place health care within the context of working toward fairer healthier social structures.