Ahmedabad: “If India wants the world to invest here, it has to first invest much more in public health,” said N R Narayana Murthy, the Co-Founder of Infosys, at the inauguration of India’s first university dedicated to public health, in Gandhinagar. Murthy, a Padma Vibushan awardee, is also the Chairman of the Public Health Foundation of India.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and state Health Minister Shankar Chaudhary attended the function of the Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH).

Murthy said that India has the second lowest life expectancy in South East Asia. “India invests 3.8% of its GDP in health of which only 35% is the government’s contribution,“ he said. “China invests 5.4% of its GDP and 56% is the government’s contribution.The UK spends 9.3% of its GDP and the government contributes 84%.“ Murthy said that institutes like the IIPH have a major role to play in building capacities of people involved in the health sector and its management. Rupani said,

“We have earmarked Rs 7,000 crore for the health sector this year and our primary aim is to strengthen our existing health network with more capacity building.“ He said the government wants to introduce better practices in health management with the help of institutes like IIPH.

The Director of the IIPH Gandhinagar, Dilip Mavalankar, said: “I had gone to Johns Hopkins University in the US to earn a degree in public health several decades ago as there was no university in India.”

Source: Times of India