JOIN USWHO to assist RGUHS in tracking public health issues
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has written to the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) on providing technical assistance to tackle health issues faced by the masses.
RGUHS Vice Chancellor Dr K S Sriprakash received the letter from WHO, confirming its technical assistance to the Public Health department of the university that is spearheading all its public health initiatives. The university started the department about a year ago with the objective of working in areas of research and to create resource persons in public healthcare.
The assistance will help the university provide training to students by WHO experts as well as other experts. According to RGUHS Registrar (Evaluation) Dr N S Ashok Kumar, this assistance may also be extended to students of the university for internships in countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, which face issues of public healthcare.
The trained professionals can devote their expertise in rural, semi-rural areas and in cities. In cities, there is a need for such professionals to cater to people living in slums. There are only a handful of doctors who are able to treat dengue, he said.
The university is planning to offer postgraduate courses like Masters in Public Health (MPH), Masters in Health Sciences (MHS) and a certificate course in Public Health from the academic year 2013-14, as part of its initiative to increase the number of professionals in the field of public health.
“While practising doctors can opt for certificate courses, we are also looking at including public health as part of the course in the undergraduate programme,” Kumar said.
The university’s effort to address issues of public health and take up research to create resource persons in the field has been recognised by WHO, he observed. The main focus, according to Public Health Director Dr K S Nagesh, would be to address problems like garbage, malnutrition and awareness about health laws.