Noted Kerala public health expert Soman dead

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 6 : Eminent public health expert C.R. Soman passed away at a hospital here Friday. He was 71.

Soman, a former professor at the medical college here, had been hospitalised a few days ago and had undergone a heart surgery, family sources said. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Soman came into prominence in 1985 when he and P.G.K. Panikkar, former director of the Centre for Development Studies, pointed out in a book the paradox between the high morbidity and low mortality in Kerala.

After retiring, he was the chairman of an NGO, Health Action by People, which did extensive research in the field of public health.