Mission
The Health Policy Group of the Centre for Public Policy aims to support evidence-based health programmes and policy development, capacity-building in programme management, and dissemination of programme and policy experiences. The Resource Group will primarily support activities at the national and state levels and work in close coordination with governments, international, and private institutions.
Background
Twenty-first century India faces a complex set of health policy challenges. Disparities in access to healthcare by socio-economic status, caste, gender, and geography appear to be growing. While new healthcare technologies have significantly improved standards of care, the cost of care has become prohibitively high for many, widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Further, the Indian population, as a result of urbanization, changing lifestyles, and increases in life expectancy, suffers from a wide range of adverse health outcomes: Infectious diseases and epidemics, like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, chronic conditions such as diabetes, coronary heart disease and mental illness, and injuries and violence. Large-scale changes in health systems are also taking place. Rapid growth in the private healthcare sector during the last two decades, combined with limited public investment in health, has contributed to increasing healthcare costs and declines in the utilization of State services. Further, serious concerns have been raised about the quality of healthcare available in India today, in the public and private sectors. Compounding these challenges is the dearth of data and analysis to guide policy development and decisions. For example, although a number of innovative experiments in healthcare financing and delivery exist, many have not been rigorously monitored and evaluated nor are there mechanisms for scaling up and managing the successes. Public health research and policy analysis is urgently needed to identify effective, replicable and sustainable approaches for health promotion and protection.
Programme Areas
- Evidence-based programme and policy development
- Poverty and Health: Exploring the relationship between assets and social and economic shocks at household and individual levels.
- Changing demand for healthcare in urban India
- Financial resource mobilization and management strategies
- Gender, power and reproductive health
- Capacity building in programme management
- Learning systems for dissemination of programme and policy experiences
Media Outreach
Envisioning age friendly health systems for India: A health policy imperative!
Prof. Allen P Ugargol, faculty in the Public Policy area at IIMB, emphasises that for most low and middle income countries (LMICs) who are yet to emerge out of the sequalae faced by rapid population growth and whose significant investments have been geared towards maternal and child health focused initiatives, it is probably difficult to envision another age-group requiring immediate attention and support, in this article in Express Healthcare.
Overcoming Vaccine Hesitancy
Dr. Allen Ugargol and Prof. Arnab Mukerji, from the Centre for Public Policy at IIMB, write that vaccine hesitancy is known to stem from lack of health awareness, from contexts of marginalisation, and social exclusion in this article in The Quint.
Government needs to focus on care for those in their sunset years
The average senior citizen in India is overly dependent on family and finds themselves in a social milieu that is largely indifferent, writes Dr Allen P Ugargol, a member of the Health Policy Group at IIMB and faculty at the Centre for Public Policy, IIMB, in this article in Deccan Herald.
Covid-19 and mental health fallout -- Building resilience support for frontline workers essential to limit exits
The mental health of the frontline healthcare workers needs to be addressed as a priority and given equal weightage along with other strategies to manage and control the disease and the pandemic at large, writes Prof. Allen P Ugargol, from the Centre of Public Policy, in Forbes India.
Covid in rural areas –Empower ASHAs
Overcoming disenchantment among workers is crucial for functional response system, write Prof. Allen Ugargol and Prof. Arnab Mukherji, from the Public Policy area, in this article in Deccan Herald
Journal Articles
India needs universal health insurance, not universal healthcare | India News - Times of India
Sudden' cardiac arrest is a myth, says India's top cardiologist | India News - Times of India
Core Faculty
The Resource Group will be led by the following CPP faculty:
Dr Arnab Mukherji, an economist, uses econometrics methods to identify trends in public health use and evaluate the impact of different programmes.
Dr Suneeta Krishnan, an epidemiologist, conducts research on the links between the socio-economic environment and adverse reproductive health outcomes, including HIV/AIDS.
For further details, please contact Dr Arnab Mukherji (arnab[at]iimb[dot]ac[dot]in)