IKYATHE
Project duration - 1st January, 2024 - 31st December, 2028
Project Brief
There is a significant evidence gap in tribal health governance in India. This study aims to address it by exploring effective mechanisms and contexts for indigenous community participation. In Phase 1, using Participatory Action Research (PAR), the team will co-develop capacity-building and policy engagement initiatives with Soliga and Jenu Kuruba communities in Karnataka. Phase 2 will evaluate selected tribal-led platforms across levels to identify pathways and social mechanisms that enable sustained, context-sensitive, community-led health governance.
Objectives
Facilitate collaborative approaches to build further the capacity of the Sangha of Soliga tribal community to engage effectively in the district health care planning and delivery processes
Facilitate collaborative approaches to mobilise and build the capacity of multi-level community-led- platforms for the Jenu Kuruba Community to engage effectively in the district health care planning and delivery processes
Explicate the context, pathways, and social mechanisms to theorise tribal community-led initiatives on participatory health governance.
Research Questions
What capacities are required by tribal community-led platforms to effectively engage in health governance processes, and how can these capacities be developed through collaborative approaches with collective platforms of tribal communities?
How do contexts, pathways, and social mechanisms shape the engagement of tribal communities in health governance processes?
Research Team
Dr. Meena Putturaj
Principal investigator (PI)
Dr. Suman V
Research Assistant
Mr. Basavanna
Community Facilitator
Mentors
Dr. Sara Van Belle
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium
Dr. Arima Mishra
Azim Premji University
Dr. Bruno Marchal
Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium
Collaborators
Dr. Tanya Seshadri
Senior Fellow & Assistant Director (Education)
Zilla Budakattu Girijana Abhivrudhi Sangha
Fellowship Supervisor
Dr Prashanth N S
Senior Fellow & Director, Institute of Public Health
Funding Agency
DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance
https://www.indiaalliance.org/Publications
'Honouring the storyteller': the potential of Playback Theatre in health policy and systems research. Meena Putturaj, Radhika Jain. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czaf038. Published: 25 June 2025
The yearly 'thank you' to nurses is not enough. More needs to be done in India's health system so that nurses are seen not only as caregivers but also as leaders. Meena Putturaj. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-yearly-thank-you-to-nurses-is-not-enough/article69580421.ece. Updated: May 16, 2025
Power to the people: community driven governance are crucial to transform TB care in India. Meena Putturaj. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/power-to-the-people-community-driven-governance-reforms-are-crucial-to-transform-tb-care-in-india/article69367617.ece. Updated - March 24, 2025