Odisha to have India’s first public health university

India is soon going to have its first public health university which is planned to be established in Odisha. A first of its kind in the country, the university will be launched at Gramadiha village in Jatni tehsil, around 20 km from Odisha.

The state government has given its approval for the same to Asian Institute of Public Health (AIPH) which is responsible for setting up the university.

The varsity would offer masters and post-doctoral degree, diploma and certificate courses in public health and public health management to both medical and non-medical professionals.

Subsequently, the upcoming university is expected to generate manpower for preventive healthcare and research on public health challenges in the region. Talking of the demand-supply gap in terms of trained professionals in this field, Dr Sudhir Satapathy, head of academic affairs of AIPH, told TOI that though various colleges and institutes have been providing courses in public health, the number of professionals produced remains inadequate. India needs around 10,000 more public health professionals at present, whereas, the country is producing around 500 per year. The new university aims to minimise this gap.

Presently, Odisha does not have any health or medical university. However, the state is planning to convert the VSS Medical College and Hospital into a unitary university.

Presently, Odisha has three government-run medical college and hospitals at Cuttack, Berhampur and Burla and four private medical colleges. The state is set to have eight new medical colleges, four of which will be set up by the government, three by PSUs and another by an entrepreneur. The private medical college will come up in Bhubaneshwar, while Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), Steel Authority of India Limited ( SAIL) and Nalco will help to set up medical colleges at Talcher, Rourkela and Koraput, respectively.