National conference on health policy and systems research begins at IIMB

Laying out a vision for researchers to ask questions focusing on “how” policy and programmes work, ICMR Director-General Rajiv Bahl on Thursday, September 5, asserted the need to motivate and engage the next generation of public health researchers in evidence-based research.

Virtually inaugurating the 4th national conference on Bringing Evidence into Public Health Policy (EPHP) that began at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, Dr. Bahl outlined the leadership role being played by ICMR in the research implementation.

With the theme “Health governance, policy and institutional frameworks for just and sustainable health systems,” the three-day conference is being attended by over 200 delegates, including leading researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in public health.

The IIMB has organised this conference in collaboration with The George Institute for Global Health, New Delhi, India (TGI), Institute of Public Health Bengaluru (IPH Bengaluru), National Institute of Implementation Research Jodhpur (NIIR-NCD), National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Institute for Tropical Medicine Antwerp, and Health Systems Global.

Arnab Mukherji, Professor of Public Policy, Chairperson of the Postgraduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM) program at IIMB, and conference co-organiser, and N. Devadasan, founder and former Director of IPH, Bengaluru, also spoke. 

Over 41 researchers from 14 Indian States and five Asia-Pacific countries will be presenting unreleased and peer-reviewed evidence for policymaking at the conference. Several State and national policymakers, including senior government officials, WHO staff, and international experts from Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Bangladesh, and other nations, also joined the event.