The Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) Hyderabad, which is expected to give a fillip to the public health system in the country, may start functioning by the middle of 2008. Union Minister laid the foundation stone for this premier institute here on World Health Day for Health, Dr Anbumani Ramadoss and deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

The institute, which is being developed by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), is the first of the seven such institutes in the country. Other institutes will be developed over the next five years period in Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

According to PHFI, each institute will have an all India character for training of public health professionals through MPH (Master of Public Health, Diploma in Public Health and PhD programmes). These would also serve as regional resource centres for training of health service personnel, health system managers and public health researchers.

The institute at Hyderabad is being developed on a 45-acre land in Rajender Nagar in collaboration with the government of Andhra Pradesh. Total investment for the institute is around Rs.120 crore. The money will be spent on setting up of the physical structure, laboratory, library and other facilities, including the corpus fund for functioning of the college for next five years. It will train 150 public health professionals (through long-term courses) and up to 800 public health functionaries (through short-term courses) each year. Each institute is expected to cost between Rs.120 crore and Rs.140 crore.

Prof K. Srinath Reddy, president, PHFI, said, health is both a developmental imperative and inviolable human right. The programmes of education and research in IIPH, Hyderabad will be tailored to the needs of the country. The IIPHs will also benefit from strong academic partnerships that PHFI has established with leading public health institutions in UK, US, Europe, Australia and several developing countries.

Several leading industrialists of the state are also expected to support this noble cause including the GVK group, Satyam group, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Matrix Laboratories who have pledged their commitment and financial support for the IIPH- Hyderabad, he said.

Apart from strengthening the health services of Andhra Pradesh, the IIPH will help to build capacity in public health policy development, programme design, delivery and evaluation as well as help health system management. National programmes like National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) as well as state and regional level health initiatives would also be assisted by the IIPH.

The institute will have a full residential campus for students and faculty. The academic curriculum is being developed with inputs from leading Indian and international academicians, researchers and practitioners. The annual student intake is expected to be between 200 and 600 once the institute is fully functional. A separate entrance module will be developed soon, sources at PHFI said.

The courses will be open to doctors as well as non-doctors. This is intended to attract a diverse student body, with students from varied backgrounds including medicine, dentistry, nursing, biological sciences, nutrition, biotechnology, social sciences, economics and management. Special programmes will also be developed to enhance expertise in the areas of public health engineering and public health law.

Drawing upon several subjects like epidemiology, biostatistics, life sciences, demography, health economics, social and behavioural sciences, environmental health and management, the institute would ensure that public health education is multi disciplinary.

Wide partnership network with leading institutes of public health have been established for faculty and joint research programme. Areas of collaboration are being identified with existing and upcoming centres of public health education in India, PHFI sources disclosed.

Currently short-term training programs are being developed which will be delivered starting this summer. The faculty for the upcoming institutes is also being recruited while young academicians and professionals are nurtured into future faculty through a scholarship programme.

With participation of various national and international partner organisations, a positive advancement is expected in the country's public health agenda thorough creation of skilled public health professionals, enhancing the capacity of the existing health workforce; and by further promoting a strong research agenda on issues which impact the health of the community and through a vibrant health promotion and advocacy strategy.

The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) was launched in March 2006, by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, as a public-private partnership dedicated to the promotion of public health related education, training, research and advocacy in India. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Gates Foundation and several philanthropic donors supported its establishment.