Kolkata: The government plans to revive the Kolkata-based All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIHPH), transforming it into a world-class ‘School of Public Health’ and regain space ceded to private think tanks such as Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) in public policy discourse, said two officials aware of the developments.
This follows a government review which found that private institutes have of late become the face of India’s public policy space, diminishing the role of the government’s own public health institutes.
“The public health policy space should in the hands of the government and not in the control of private bodies, and NGOs. Hence, the plan is to revive government’s own All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health in Kolkata. The proposal is being drafted and soon be submitted to the health minister,” one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.
“The plan is to transform All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health into world class ‘School of Public Health’ which will have 20 departments related to public health subjects. As of now, we are having 11 departments in place. Nine more futuristic public health departments are very much required considering the present times. We have proposed geographic information systems (GIS)/Artificial Intelligence department, international health department, Health economics department, health financing department, demography and population study department,” the second official said, adding the Indian school would be similar to international schools of public health in the US and London.
Queries sent to the health ministry and a spokesperson for PHFI didn’t elicit any response.
Experts said the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health was created in 1932 to be one of the three premier institutions globally like the John Hopkins and Tropical School of Medicines in the US. However, the vision failed to materialize.
So far, eastern India doesn’t have a molecular epidemiology department. “A proposal is also being made for molecular epidemiology and advanced version of biotechnology departments; one health department which will have public health entomology division too,” the second official said.
Such departments currently don’t exist in any university or medical college, including the directorate of health.
“In addition, the plan is to upgrade the institute with the department of health policies and laws in public health. The department will look after all the policies and laws related to producing post graduate lawyers trained in public health courses who would work jointly with public health professionals,” added the second official.
The government also plans to upgrade the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health into a deemed university. “As soon as we recruit required number of faculties and students more than 1,000, the plan is to upgrade “School of Public Health” into a deemed university,” the official said.
Currently, only two government institutes, Dr Sushila Nayar School of Public Health in Maharashtra’s Sevagram (trust mode) and PGI Chandigarh, offer courses on public health
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