IPH faculty member Dr. Upendra Bhojani participated in ITM Colloquium in Katmandu, Nepal

IPH faculty member Dr. Upendra Bhojani participated in ITM Colloquium in Katmandu, Nepal

Dr. Upendra Bhojani, Faculty & DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance Senior fellow at the Institute of Public Health Bengaluru participated in the 64th ITM Colloquium 2023. The Colloquium, jointly organised by the Institute of Tropical Medicine (Antwerp) and the Nepal Health Research Council in Kathmandu (20-23 November 2023), focused on the theme of “Understanding the Global Landscape of Disease Burden in the Context of Climate Change”. Upendra presented on how tobacco impacts environment throughout its lifecycle (cultivation, curing, production, consumption, product waste) and how this signifies a wicked public policy problem requiring high-level inter-sectoral coordination.  On the first day, a meeting was organised of ITM alumni. Upendra (being a PhD alumnus 2010-2016) also participated in the meeting. Upendra also put up an art exhibit themed ‘Tobacco & Society’ comprising of six pencil-on-paper drawings with curated text locating tobacco within sociocultural and historical contexts. Upendra gave a talk as part of the ITM Alumni meeting using these drawings.

Health Equity Network India (HENI) – 23rd Equilogues

Health Equity Network India (HENI) – 23rd Equilogues

Date

25-January-2024 Thursday

Time

3:30-5:00 PM IST

Theme: Health of Adivasi communities in Chamarajanagar southern India, Experiences and Perspective of the Zilla budakattu Girijana Abhivruddhi Sangha (ZBGAS)

Background: The 23rd Equilogue of the Health Equity Network India will introduce the work done by Academia and indigenous social movements. Our decade-old work on health and health care issues of indigenous communities is based on participatory approaches and the coproduction of research knowledge to be used for policy engagement for new programmes or suitable modification for existing programs. Our intent is to include the voices and lived experiences of the communities in the design and implementation of the programmes meant for their betterment. A brief introduction to our work is attached.

Format: A Panel Discussion will feature members of the Zila Budakattu Girijana Abhivruddhi Sangha (ZBGAS) of Karnataka. Panelists include Dr. C Made Gouda (Secretary ZBGAS), Mr. Muttiah (President Adivasi Samanvay Mach, a collective of  400 Forest Associated Tribal communities across India), and Mrs. Puttamma (Member district Forest Rights Act Implementation Committee, Chamarajanagar). The panel will be moderated by C Mahadeva from the Institute of Public Health. The panel will be followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Speakers

Dr. C Made Gowda

Dr. C Made Gowda

Dr. C Madegowda is a social scientist and adivasi leader has been involved in the indigenous community-based organisation since the beginning. He is also part of state level /district forest rights act implementation committee, Vice president LAMPS BR hills, Member District Tribal Health Navigator programme Chamarajanagar, Secretary biligiri ranganatha swamy soligara samskarana kendra. He works with Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) Bangalore as a post-doctoral fellow and project manager.

Mr. Muttiah

Mr. Muttiah

Mr. Muttiah is an activist, and a Adivasi leader. He has worked extensively with ZBGAS and soliga Abhivruddhi Sangha from grass roots. he has authored a book chapter related to tribal communities, member subdivisional level forest rights act committee  Kollegal member district Chamarajanagar  district child rights protection committee.

Mrs. Puttamma

Mrs. Puttamma

Mrs. Puttamma is the president of the taulka tribal women’s association she is one of the women leaders from the Soliga community. She is an active participant in various meetings with district administration. she also works with other two Adivasi communities (Jenu kuruba and Betta Kuruba) in Chamarajanagar.

Moderator

Mr. C Mahadev

Mr. C Mahadev

Mr. C Mahadev (Community Engagements Specialist Institute of Public Health). He is the former president of ZBGAS, presently the coordinator for 6 southern Indian states for Adiavsi Samnvay manch Bharath New Delhi. He is working with public and policy engagement for CTRITH a team science grant by DBT/Wellcome/ India Alliance.

The panel discussion will be in kannada the conversation will be translated into in Hindi and English.

IPH Bengaluru Annual Day Oration 2023

IPH Bengaluru Annual Day Oration 2023

Date

01-September-2023

Time

3:00 PM to 4:00 PM

We are thrilled to invite you to the ‘Annual Day 2023’ of the Institute of Public Health Bengaluru. This year marks a significant milestone as we celebrate 18 years of dedication and excellence in the field of public health. We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to our valued collaborators, committee members, adjunct faculty, honorary associates, ex-employees, well-wishers, and staff who have been an integral part of our journey.

The IPH Bengaluru Oration series is an event open to the public. Please feel free to share the information with others in your networks

About Orator

Pathogens, People & Planet

Pranay Lal

Pranay Lal

Pranay Lal is an Indian author: ‘Indica: A Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent’ and ‘Invisible Empire: The Natural History of Viruses’ have gained prominent global recognition. A trained biochemist, he has worked in nonprofit sectors across public health, environment and climate change

Health Equity Network India (HENI) – the 21st Equilogues

Health Equity Network India (HENI) – the 21st Equilogues

Date

31-March-2023 Friday

Time

3:00-4:30 PM IST

Theme: Leaving no one behind:
Understanding the gaps in the current approach to ensuring UHC in India

Background: Universal Health Coverage is intended to “leave no one behind”, and yet often falls far short of this goal, even in the best of circumstances and when intentions are earnest. This panel will focus on recent research on the reach, acceptability, and impact of UHC schemes on access to healthcare for socially excluded communities (Indigenous communities and older widows living alone) in the South Indian state of Kerala. Drawing on concrete examples, the speakers will highlight the limitations of relying on health insurance and the presence of health facilities alone to achieve UHC in India.

Format: The Health Equity Network India is pleased to host Dr. Sunil George and Mr. Ramu KA at its 21st Equilogue. The session will comprise a research presentation from Dr. George based on his doctoral research on inclusion in Universal Health Coverage in India, followed by reflections from Mr. Ramu, his Indigenous research collaborator from Attapadi in Palakkad, Kerala. The session will be introduced with opening remarks from Ms. Gloria Benny from The George Institute, India, and will be moderated by Prof. Rakhal Gaitonde from SCTIMST, Trivandrum, Kerala.

Speakers

Dr. Sunil George

Dr. Sunil George

Dr. Sunil George is currently a Lecturer in Public Health at the University of Canberra, Australia. He has several years of experience of working with socially excluded communities and their ability to access healthcare services. Dr. George began his career in public health as an advocate for access to treatment for People living with HIV/AIDS in south India in the early 2000s. He has worked with a wide range of community-based organisations in India, South Africa, and Australia where he carried out qualitative and mixed methods research to understand the determinants of access to healthcare among different socially excluded groups. His doctoral thesis explored the issue of Universal Health Coverage and its impact on access to healthcare for two socially excluded communities i.e., Indigenous (Adivasi) and Older widows living alone, in the south Indian state of Kerala.

Mr. Ramu K.A.

Mr. Ramu K.A.

Ramu K.A. is an Adivasi activist who belongs to the Muduga community from Attapadi, Kerala. He has been at the forefront of advocating for social and political determinants of health, including restoring the lands that were alienated from the Irula, Muduga, and Kurumba communities living in Attapadi. Ramu continues to farm on his ancestral lands while being an advocate for the rights of his community.

Introduction by

Ms. Gloria Benny

Ms. Gloria Benny

Gloria Benny is working as a Research Assistant at The George Institute, in India. Gloria Benny holds a master’s degree in Development and a bachelor’s degree in Medical Sociology. She is developing her expertise in qualitative research. She has over five years of experience working with tribal and rural populations in southern and central India. Gloria has a strong interest in research topics within the ecosystem of Health systems and Social Participation in Health. Currently, she is involved in a health systems study on health equity and Universal Health Coverage.

Moderator

Prof. Rakhal Gaitonde

Prof. Rakhal Gaitonde

The session will be moderated by Dr. Rakhal Gaitonde, Professor, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala. His work largely focuses on health policy, the social determinants of health, and health systems. He was involved in setting up a people-controlled health system in Maharashtra with Foundation for Research in Community Health. He has been involved with the Society for Community Health Awareness Research and Action (SOCHARA), where he was involved in the implementation of the NRHM in Tamil Nadu. He is also a member of the National ASHA Mentoring Group of the NHM.

Health Equity Network India (HENI) – the 20th Equilogues

Health Equity Network India (HENI) – the 20th Equilogues

Health Equity Network India (HENI) – the 20th Equilogues

Date

16-December-2022 Friday

Time

3:30-5:00 PM IST

Theme: How do we build the world we want?

Multi-Country Perspectives on Social Participation for Universal Health Coverage

 Background: Social participation or citizen engagement has become an integral part of health systems strengthening since its rise in prominence as part of the Alma Ata declaration on “Health for All” in 1978. Evidence linking social participation to improve health outcomes and health systems is emerging and acting as a critical tool for advocacy around the policy imperative for governments to institutionalize and strengthen social participation as part of health programs. History bears testimony to the central role that the civil society has been playing in advocating for and facilitating citizen engagement in health. There have been numerous attempts globally at institutionalizing and operationalizing citizen engagement in health programs. Several of these experiences in countries have been documented whereas for many such documentation is emerging.

The Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (CSEM) for UHC2030 is partnering with The George Institute for Global Health (TGI) as part of a project entitled “Social Participation for Health: Engagement, Research, and Empowerment (SPHERE)” to document experiences of social participation and community action in health and support advocacy efforts of civil society partners in Argentina, Vietnam and Kenya towards advancing citizen engagement and social participation for health linking up to UHC. With Universal Health Coverage (UHC) occupying the central stage in policy and advocacy related to health systems governance and the delivery of health services, such documentation offers lessons and opportunities for cross-learning on how social participation could be leveraged for progressively achieving UHC.

The 20th Equilogue of the Health Equity Network India (HENI) will bring together researchers and practitioners who – based on their involvement in research, advocacy, and action related to citizen engagement – will share perspectives, learnings, challenges, and the way forward for Social Participation for health (SPH) in their country contexts and deliberate on the role of SPH within the UHC discourse.

Format: The webinar will begin with a team from The George Institute for Global Health India showcasing its documentation work on the history of institutionalizing community participation and action in health under India’s National Health Rural Mission (NRHM) using the oral history methodology of a Witness Seminar.

This will be followed by a fireside chat hosted by Dr. David Peiris from TGI with representatives from the civil society deeply involved with work encompassing social participation and movement-building on UHC and strengthening community-led action for health reform.

Agenda:

Speakers

Hari Sankar

Hari Sankar

Research Fellow – Health Systems and Equity, The George Institute for Global Health, India

Dr. Hari Sankar D is a qualitative research fellow at the George Institute for Global Health India (TGI). He has a Master’s in public health and a Bachelor’s degree in Ayurveda. He has worked for more than six years in health systems and operation research focusing on primary health care. He is trained in disease surveillance and later gained field experience in implementation research. His current research interest is focused on developing a monitoring framework for tracking health system performance indicators and underlying inequalities in the health system of Kerala. 

Misimi Kakoti

Misimi Kakoti

Research Officer, The George Institute for Global Health, India

Misimi Kakoti is currently working as a Research Officer (RO) at TGI. Her research interests lie in the intersection of gender, rights, and equity in health policy and systems. She has been primarily involved with the documentation work on community action in health in India with the method of Witness Seminar, piloting the 8Quity checklist tool, and the CEDAW implementation review project at TGI. She has previously worked with the Rapid Evidence Synthesis Unit at TGI. She also supports the Secretariat of the Health Equity Network India (HENI). Prior to this, she worked with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and ActionAid India.

Abhijit Das

Abhijit Das

Founder and Managing Trustee, Centre for Health and Social Justice

Dr. Abhijit Das is the Founder and Managing Trustee of the Centre for Health and Social Justice, a policy research and advocacy institution on health and human rights, and gender equality. Dr. Abhijit is a medical doctor with 35 years of experience in grassroots work, training, research, and policy advocacy in the field of public health. He is the founder member of MenEngage, a global alliance of NGOs working with men and boys on gender equality, and Co-Convenor of COPASAH (Community of Practitioners on Accountability and Social Action in Health), a global health rights and social accountability network, and member of the Advisory Group on Community Action (AGCA). He is a Clinical Associate Professor, the Department of Global Health, University of Washington.

Smitha Sadasivan

Smitha Sadasivan

Smitha Sadasivan is a social activist passionate about the accessibility and inclusivity of persons with disabilities in all domains including civil political socio-cultural, financial legal, and administrative contexts. She is a member of the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism for UHC 2030, while also serving on the Steering Committee of the UHC 2030 initiative overall. In her native state of Tamil Nadu, she serves on the State Advisory Board for Persons with Disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Disability Rights Alliance. At the national level, she is a member of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India and the Election Commission. Smitha has degrees in English Literature and Psychology.

Nguyen Thuy Linh

Nguyen Thuy Linh

Deputy Director, Center for Supporting Community Development Initiatives (SCDI)

The Centre for Supporting Community Development Initiatives (SCDI) is a Vietnamese NGO, well-known for its leading role in advocacy for marginalized populations’ access to health and fostering national networks of key populations and other community networks in Vietnam.

In 2015, Linh joined SCDI to develop the Children and Youth program and has led various interventions and advocacy efforts on drug harm reduction and HIV prevention for young drug users, sexual and reproductive health and rights for young women and adolescent girls, building resilience, increasing access to health and education for disenfranchised children. She also provides supervision for the Harm reduction and Addiction Treatment program and the Communication and Social Mobilization team.

Before SCDI, Linh sat in the core team laying the stepping stones for the first Global Fund-supported project on HIV/AIDS led by civil society in Vietnam, facilitating capacity building of community-based organizations and key populations networks and their engagement in advocacy for enabling environment for civil society participation in the HIV response.

Justin Koonin

Justin Koonin

Co-Chair, UHC2030 Steering Committee; President, AIDS Council of New South Wales

Justin is co-chair of the Steering Committee of UHC2030, the international multi-stakeholder partnership for universal health coverage, and is a member of multiple WHO expert panels. At a national level, Justin is president of ACON (AIDS Council of New South Wales), Australia’s largest community organisation dedicated to HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and support, as well as to the health of sexuality and gender-diverse people more broadly. He is Distinguished Fellow and Honorary Professorial Fellow at The George Institute and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of New South Wales, as well as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Justin’s training is in the field of pure mathematics, and he currently works as an investment analyst.

David Peiris

David Peiris

Director, Global Primary Health Care Program; Co-Director, Centre for Health Systems Science

David is the Director of the Global Primary Health Care Program (Better Care) and Co-Director of the Centre for Health Systems Science. He is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, and works clinically as a GP in Sydney.

David joined the Institute in 2006 and leads the Better care program at the Institute. This program focuses on SDG 3 – especially SDGs 3.4 and 3.8. The goal is to overcome the challenges of delivering affordable, high-quality health services and programs to communities across the globe. It is underpinned by health systems science, a dynamic and emerging discipline that includes health services research, health policy and systems research, and implementation science.

David has published extensively in areas related to health systems research and leads several grants testing innovative strategies to improve access to high-quality primary health care with a particular focus on under-served populations. He was the 2015-2016 Australian Harkness Fellow in Healthcare policy, based at Harvard School of Public Health where he conducted a national study of the changes to healthcare delivery systems associated with President Obama’s reforms.

He has been a board member of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and sits on several government, non-government, and research advisory committees. He was the elected co-chair of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases committee for hypertension control from 2012 to 2015.

Two-part Webinar Series on ‘ESG: Will it change how businesses shape public health?’

Two-part Webinar Series on ‘ESG: Will it change how businesses shape public health?’

What is ESG and why it needs a closer look?

ESG stands for environment, social and governance and refers to factors/criteria measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of a company or business. Increasingly today, investment decisions are made based on a company’s environmental, social and governance performance with metrics to report for each criterion to together give a final ESG score. Today the discourse around ESG parameters or measurement is still evolving in India.

Companies or sectors in India especially those in the harmful commodities industries (for example: tobacco industry) have been reporting on their sustainability practices, at times even when it is not a government mandate. Although such businesses sell lethal products causing much damage to health and the environment, they are able to present themselves to the public as a ‘good corporate’ and retain investor confidence by showing a good ESG rating/score. As ESG is becoming a buzzword in the investment world, the tobacco industry is already making tall claims to be ESG-friendly investment destinations.


About webinar series

The Institute of Public Health Bengaluru (IPH) with support from the Union (International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease) is organising a two-part webinar series on the topic, “ESG: Will it change how businesses shape public health?” on consecutive Saturdays, 29 October and 5 November 2022 from 1 to 2.15 pm IST.


Who should attend and what to expect?

This webinar is open to all public health professionals and/or enthusiasts keen to understand and address how businesses impact health. The webinars will be organised as a series of carefully curated lectures followed by a Q & A session with experts.

 

Part 1 of the webinar series will explore the following topics:

  • ESG as a concept, its history and evolution
  • Regulatory frameworks in India on measuring and reporting on ESG
  • Gaps in ‘E’ , ‘S’ and ‘G’: Environmental, Social and Governance concerns

 

Part 2 of the webinar series will explore the following topics:

  • ESG within Commercial Determinants of Health (CDoH)
  • Understanding implications of ‘E’, ‘S’ and ‘G’ in relation to the tobacco industry
  • Tobacco Industry and Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) in India
  • The way forward for businesses and health