Mission

Building Capacities for Public Health Action.

Objectives

1. Reaching out to dedicated individuals and organizations for whom health equity is a major concern, and providing them access to essential information and opportunities to contribute to this goal.
2. Sharing public health technical resources with existing and potential district health programme managers towards strengthening the public health system in their districts. Assisting in the emergence of state and district level resource groups for this purpose.
3. Empowering civil society to create spaces, and utilizing the spaces being created under the NRHM, for improving and increasing public participation in health planning and management.
4. Promoting decentralisation and horizontal integration at district, block and gram panchayat levels by contributing to capacity building at these levels on technical, programmatic, epidemiological and social understandings of health.
5. Strengthening the resource base needed for informed advocacy within the government and within civil society.
6. Facilitating networking and mutual support among public health practitioners.

Its core strategies consist of

1. Conducting a PHRN certificate learning programme for public health practitioners both within and outside of government.
2. Supporting Fast Track Capacity Building Programme on district health planning and management for public health sector employees.
3. Conducting Fellowship Programme to induct and groom interested persons into working towards public health goals.
4. Participating in a Post Graduate Diploma in District Health Management in collaboration with Indira Gandhi National Open University and conducting in the four states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Orissa.
5. Strengthening community processes in NRHM
   • Support to the ASHA programme
   • Facilitating effective VHSC functioning and village health planning
   • Facilitating public participation in health management through bodies like Rogi Kalyan Samiti
   • Capacity building and support to PRIs’ involvement
   • Assisting community monitoring processes to improve facilities and services
6. Making district planning more equitable and effective by
   • Research inputs
   • Independent appraisals and evaluations
   • Assisting access to information and technical resources
   • Organising peer reviews
   • Demonstrating quality district health plans through intensive work in 3-4 districts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Orissa.
     
7. Promoting networking and the emergence of district and state level groups and teams with a high degree of motivation and skill. Holding conventions, seminars, study groups and meetings to facilitate this process.