Bringing Evidence into Public Health Policy 2024 (EPHP)

A national level conference on health policy and systems research to be hosted at IIM Bangalore

Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers reflect on ‘Just and sustainable health systems’

Bangalore/4th September 2024: Over 200 delegates including leading researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in public health will be in the city to attend the 4th national conference on Bringing Evidence into Public Health Policy (EPHP). The theme for the conference that will be held from 5-7 September at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) is “Health governance, policy and institutional frameworks for just and sustainable health systems.” The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) is collaborating with several institutions to host this event. Partners include 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.

The conference inauguration will take place on September 5th from 9:00 AM to 10:15 AM in presence of the eminent dignitaries including Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research, representatives from Government of Karnataka and Directors of partner organizations. Dr. Arnab Mukherji, Professor of Public Policy, and Chairperson of the PGPPM program at IIMB, and EPHP co-organiser shared “EPHP 2024 brings together several active researchers and policy makers. This year, building on the work done in collaboration with IPH, Bengaluru and the George Institute of Global Health, and other health policy activities at IIMB, EPHP presents a very topical global platform that informs participants on on-going research and practice.”

“After a gap of several years, we have resumed the 2-yearly EPHP conference together with many leading institutions in India. From IPH Bengaluru, we hope to continue to nurture this platform to bring together policymakers & researchers from across the country and from South Asia for learning and sharing. We hope to see maximum participation from policymakers from states & national level because such a dialogue between researchers and policymakers is crucial for achieving our health system goals.” said Dr Prashanth NS Director, IPH Bengaluru.

Over 41 researchers from 14 Indian states and 5 Asia Pacific countries will present unreleased and peer-reviewed evidence for policymaking at EPHP. Several state and national policymakers including senior government officials have confirmed their attendance to EPHP. International experts from Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Bangladesh and other nations will also join the event.

Dr. Devaki Nambiar, Program Director at the George Institute for Global Health India and among the conference co-organisers, had this to say: “EPHP has a strong legacy of meaningful dialogue that breaks the silos between decision-makers and researchers. In this iteration, we are trying to expand our learning across the region, align with global conversations on health systems, and explore the role of arts in health. We have had a great response so far – we are looking forward to having interesting conversations and finding new directions to work together.