SHILLONG: WHO County Office for India conducted a weeklong academic session starting 29 August on health financing for the students enrolled in the Master of Public Health (MPH) programme at the Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH) in Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya.
The participants were public health professionals who plan to work on health financing.
IIPH Shillong has been set up by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) in collaboration with the Government of Meghalaya for capacity strengthening and improving health outcomes through engagement in research, education, training, policy and advocacy activities in the North-East region of India.
Sharing her experience Dr Mousmi Singh, an MPH student at IIPH said, “This module on health financing by WHO has helped us understand how to efficiently and equitably allocate resources, purchase and spend finances for an overall improved health care service.”
The training sessions focused on core health financing functions of revenue raising, pooling, purchasing and benefit design in addition to public financial management and the political economy for health. A field visit to the Megha Health Insurance Scheme office in Shillong gave students an opportunity to understand the financial protection initiatives currently in place in the state of Meghalaya.
To strengthen health financing capacity in the country, WHO will continue to work with institutions and professionals by introducing new curriculums and modules to fast-track India’s journey towards achieving universal health coverage.
WHO health systems team with students from IIPH for a workshop on health financing in Shillong, Meghalaya. Photo: © WHO India