Dr. Upendra Bhojani, India Alliance Fellow and Director at IPH, was invited to participate in a Roundtable discussion hosted by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and World Health Organization, India in Delhi on the 26th July 2019. The roundtable discussion was attended by subject experts, bureaucrats and researchers from Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Delhi.
While urbanization offers opportunities for growth and development, it poses unique challenges for health and health governance. Acknowledging health as a key component of urban planning and governance by policymakers is an important step to visualize and translate sustainable urban development into action. Themes that were broadly discussed over the course of the day include:
- The need to strengthen and rationalise existing urban primary health structures in the context of Ayushman Bharat.
- The need for strong financial governance to help minimise underutilisation of funds.
- Lack of effective Monitoring, Surveillance and Accountability systems among diverse stakeholders.
The full report of the event is accessible here.
