History
The Ramalingaswami Centre on Equity and Social Determinants of Health was set up in Bengaluru in 2015, as a Centre of Excellence at the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). Since then, it has become a go-to place for training, research and knowledge translation on gender and intersectionality in health systems and policy.
The team at the Centre has an excellent track record of in-depth grounded research straddling different methodologies.
Over the years, its members have:
- Challenged existing conceptual frameworks in maternal health
- Developed new methodological approaches to verbal autopsies and intersectionality-focused analyses
- Linked key health system factors to gender dynamics to better understand the drivers of maternal mortality and respectful maternity care
- Explored the role of power in health systems
- Developed equity-oriented strategies to engage diverse health system stakeholders
- Taken an intersectionality lens to public policy
The Centre has also engaged with key national and international health policy bodies (Mission Steering Group of the NRHM, governing board of the NHSRC, Scientific and Technical Advisory Group and Gender and Rights Advisory Panel of WHO’s RHR / HRP department and more). Over the years, the Centre has built up collaborative partnerships with institutions and universities globally, and within India – National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Indian Institute of Public Health, Shillong, United Nations University- International Institute of Global Health (UNU-IIGH), University of Toronto’s Centre for Global Child Health, Federal University of Pelotas’ International Centre for Equity in Health, University of Western Cape, George Washington University’s Milkin School of Public Health and its members are affiliated to networks like Health Equity Network India, CommonHealth, etc.
