Carl E. Taylor, MD, DrPH

The John's Hopkins University
School of Public Health
Baltimore, Maryland

Dr. Carl Taylor has dedicated his life to improving the healthcare of people throughout the world according to the principle of equity. Dr. Taylor clarified the concept of health equity as "...providing health benefits according to measurable need rather than on the basis of political or economic status... concentrating on those who have the greatest problems. This clear vision has enabled Dr. Taylor to find new ways of helping developing countries improve the health of their citizens.

Among Dr. Taylor's many accomplishments: One of the founders and first director of the Department of International Health at JHSPH in 1961, the first of its kind at any school of public health; Over the course of 30 years he worked in India, first as director of Memorial Hospital, a Presbyterian Mission and then as head of a preventive medicine social medicine program at Christian Medical College in Ludhaina; Served as UNICEF director for China from 1984 through 1987; And served as primary WHO consultant in preparing documents for Alma Ata, a worldwide conference in 1978 on children's healthcare that brought priority to primary healthcare among world health leaders for the first time.

Born in India, the son of medical missionaries for the Reform Presbyterian mission in the Himalayas, Taylor says he inherited his profession. His own training in medicine and later a DrPH, both at Harvard, carried on the tradition of involving his family in his work. His late wife, Mary, professor emeritus in education at Towson University, and their children followed Taylor's work, as the family lived in China and India.

From his extensive field experience and professional expertise, Dr. Taylor has created a method for achieving sustainable solutions to health care needs in the developing world. This method combines expert and grassroots approaches in a "flexible and varying balance depending on local circumstances." Telling communities how to solve their problems, without consulting local advice led to unsustainable development programs in the past. Expertise is needed, but the programs must be tailored to the local situation and owned by the local community. This approach is called SEED-SCALE, (Self-Evaluation for Effective Decision-making) and (Systems for Communities to adapt Lessons and Extend). Together with his son, Daniel Taylor-Ide, Dr. Taylor has put this method into practice in communities in India and Nepal through the international, non-profit organization they founded, Future Generations.

Dr. Taylor continues to teach a course at JHSPH on primary healthcare and the community-based approach. Every year twice the number of allowed students sign up -- Dr. Taylor always makes room for them all.