National Health Systems Resource Centre

National Health Systems Resource Centre
Name	National Health Systems Resource Centre
Formation	2006
Type	Public health think tank
Headquarters	New Delhi
Location	India
Leader title	Director
Parent organization	Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India)

National Health Systems Resource Centre is an Indian technical support institution established to strengthen health systems and implement health policy reforms. It provides policy analysis and capacity building for state and central agencies, supporting initiatives such as the National Rural Health Mission, Ayushman Bharat, and Reproductive and Child Health Programme. The centre works with international partners including the World Health Organization, World Bank, and bilateral agencies to improve service delivery across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and other states.

History and Establishment

The centre was created in 2006 as a successor to earlier capacity units involved with the National Rural Health Mission (India), and traces roots to policy recommendations from the Rangarajan Committee and inputs during meetings with the Planning Commission (India). Its founding intersected with national reform milestones such as the launch of the National Rural Health Mission and the passage of programmatic directives linked to the National Health Policy, 2002. Early collaborators included the United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Population Fund, and regional offices of the World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia, reflecting a milieu of multilateral engagement similar to projects supported by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Organizational Structure and Governance

The centre is administratively linked to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India) and operated through specialized divisions mirroring structures found in institutions like the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare. Its governance incorporates advisory inputs from panels including former officials from the NITI Aayog and technical experts with backgrounds in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Public Health Foundation of India. Management layers include program heads, state liaison officers and technical teams comparable to those at the National Centre for Disease Control and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization.

Functions and Programs

The centre's core functions include health systems strengthening, human resources for health, health information systems, and quality improvement, paralleling program areas in the National Health Mission and Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. It implements training initiatives akin to those run by the Indian Council of Medical Research and supports health management information systems similar to the District Health Information Software 2 deployments. Programmatic work spans maternal and child health programs linked to the Janani Suraksha Yojana, disease control efforts related to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, and health financing studies comparable to analyses by the Economic Advisory Council (India).

Partnerships and Collaborations

The centre partners with international agencies such as the World Health Organization, World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and philanthropic organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Domestic collaborations include state health departments of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Rajasthan, as well as research networks involving the Public Health Foundation of India, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and the Indian Council of Medical Research. It engages with professional bodies such as the Medical Council of India (now replaced by the National Medical Commission), the Indian Nursing Council, and civil society organizations including Jan Swasthya Abhiyan and the Indian Red Cross Society.

Impact and Contributions

The centre has supported rollout and scale-up of initiatives in maternal health, immunization campaigns aligned with the Universal Immunization Programme, and health systems reforms informing the National Health Policy, 2017. Evaluations and technical assistance contributed to improvements in health worker training akin to reforms at the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health and influenced state-level policy shifts observed in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Its analytical outputs have informed budgetary and operational planning comparable to reports produced by the NITI Aayog and the Planning Commission (India).

Funding and Resources

Funding streams have included budgetary allocations from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (India), project grants from multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, and support from bilateral donors including UK Department for International Development (now part of Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) and the United States Agency for International Development. Resource mobilization has also involved partnerships with foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and technical cooperation with the World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia.

Category:Health agencies of India Category:Public health organizations