The Public Health Foundation of India is a not for profit public private initiative working towards a healthier India. A national consultation, convened by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in September 2004, recommended a foundation which could rapidly advance public health education, training, research and advocacy. The Government of India enabled the setting up of PHFI in 2006 in response to the limited public health institutional capacity and the foundation was established to strengthen training, research and policy through interdisciplinary and health system connected education and, policy programme relevant research, evidence based & equity promoting policy development, affordable health technologies, people empowering health promotion & advocacy for prioritised health causes in the area of Public Health India faces a severe shortfall of public health professionals, and capacity building efforts are urgently required to address its emerging public health challenges. Public health has evolved as a multi-disciplinary science which deals with the determinants and defence of health at the population level so as to impact upon and improve the health of individuals in that population. It aims to focus on and influence the multiple determinants of health and to undertake and evaluate multi-sectoral interventions to positively influence those determinants. It also involves the study of health systems, their structure and management practices as channels for delivery of health services for all sections of the population. As India experiences a rapid health transition, it is confronted both by an unfinished agenda of eliminating infectious diseases, nutritional deficiencies, unsafe pregnancies and the challenge of escalating epidemics of non-communicable diseases. This composite threat to the nation's health and development needs a concerted public health response that can ensure delivery of cost-effective interventions for health promotion, disease prevention and affordable diagnostic and the therapeutic health care. This broad ambit makes it essential that education and training in public health is multi-disciplinary in content and that the pathways of public health action are multi-sectoral. Public health education must include subject areas like epidemiology, biostatistics, behavioural sciences, health economics, health services management, environmental health, health inequities and human rights, gender and health, health promotion and communication, ethics of health care and research. These diverse disciplines need to establish synergistic links in designing and delivering health care in prioritized sectors. It is also essential to advance a trans-disciplinary research agenda which informs policy and empowers programs. There is a constant need for surveillance, monitoring and evaluation. The interventions proposed need to be evidence based, context specific and resource sensitive. Thus public health should emphasize health promotion, disease prevention and cost effective as well as equitable health care through collective actions at various levels to address the underlying causes of diseases, and foster conditions in which communities or population groups may lead healthy lives.
The Genesis of PHFI
The Public Health Foundation of India was conceptualised as a response to growing concern over the emerging public health challenges in India. It recognizes the fact that meeting the shortfall of health professionals is imperative for a sustained and holistic response to the public health concerns in the country, which in turn requires health care to be addressed not only from the scientific perspective of what works, but also from the social perspective of who needs it the most. The PHFI concept was developed over two years and was collaboratively evolved through consultation with multiple constituencies including Indian and international academia, State and Central Governments in India, multi & bi-lateral agencies, civil society groups in India. Mandate The PHFI is working towards building public health capacity by:
Establishing a network of new institutes of public health in India
Establishing strong national networks and international partnerships for research
Generating policy recommendations and developing vigorous advocacy platform
Facilitating the establishment of an independent accreditation body for degrees in public health which are awarded by training institutions across India
Assisting the growth of existing public health training institutions
The Board includes senior government officials, eminent Indian and International academic and scientific leaders, civil society representatives and industry leaders. PHFI in the last five years grown in length and breath and has set up four Centres of Excellence to raise awareness and strengthen research, training and education in the high priority area of public health in India.
