| The Ibarapa project, Nigeria, was conceived as a means of providing medical students of the University of Ibadan Medical School with experience in community diagnosis. The process devised for the student progresses through the long-term examination of a selected group, the determination of its health needs, and the devising of effective, yet economically feasible, means to meet those needs. Ibarapa, the district chosen, is of 1 000 square miles and is inhabited by a population of 137 542, most of whom are Yoruba and farm for their living. Six groups of 4th-year students now spend 6 weeks each on the project, working in the community health centre, the clinics, the laborato and participating in the current research programmes (health statistics, epidemiology, the social aspects of obstetrics and pediatrics, environmental health, etc.). Experience on the project so far has proved both interesting and rewarding to the student. |