From the Director’s Desk

Sri Anil Chandra Punetha, I.A.S.
Director,
Indian Institute of Health and Family Welfare (IIHFW)
GoAP Commissioner of Family Welfare
Ex-Officio Principal Secretary – GoAP - HM&FW Dept.

The Indian Institute of Health and Family Welfare (IIHFW) is the State apex-training Institute for the Department of Health and Family Welfare, GoAP. It is an autonomous Institute registered under the AP Registration of Societies Act and has been functioning since 1992. While training is its main activity, the Institute is also engaged in consultancy and research. It also provides technical guidance to the eight Regional Training Centres (RTCs) and 23 District Training Centres (DTCs) in the State.

The Institute has developed core competence in identifying the knowledge and skill requirement for better service delivery and provides customized inputs through training programs specifically designed for various categories of health personnel. It also undertakes research and consultancy at the policy level, program intervention and service delivery at outreach level. This has been implemented by the department of Health and Family Welfare for building specific organizational capabilities. Through its research and consulting, the Institute has developed a database of issues pertaining to the department of Health and Family Welfare and is using the inputs for launching specialized training programs for various categories of health service providers in the State.

The Institute has well-qualified, multidisciplinary team of faculty who have been drawn from reputed organizations and have specialized in the areas of Public Health, Management, Demography, Communication (IEC, BCC) and Reproductive Child Health (RCH).

The performance of the Institute during the past three years has been very satisfying in terms of the number of training programs organized not only at the Institute but also at the Regional and District level (RTCs and DTCs). At this juncture, it is worth mentioning the significant contribution made by the faculty in organizing orientation trainings and spreading awareness on National Rural Health Mission (2005-2012) for all health personnel at the District level during 2007-08. During the same year, the Institute has also made a foray into the field of health education by launching a one-year graduate program – Bachelors in Health Education affiliated to Osmania University, Hyderabad. The program, by and large, caters to personnel working for the Department of Health and Family Welfare. The purpose of starting the course is to generate and develop a cadre of competent and committed health educators. The first batch of students graduated successfully in the year 2009.

Induction Training for newly recruited Medical Officers was also taken up after almost a decade and a total of 929 Medical officers were trained at IIHFW and the eight RTCs. As a collaborating training Institute of the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, N. Delhi, the Institute is conducting a ten-week Professional Development Course on Public Health, Management and Health Sector Reforms for District level health administrators since 2005. A total of 167 participants have been trained at IIHFW so far and they include participants from AP as well as from the State of Karnataka. In addition, the faculty have been involved in monitoring of trainings like Integrated Management of Neonatal & Childhood Illnesses, Skilled Birth Attendants, Standards of Sterilization and Quality Assurance in FP Program conducted at the RTCs and DTCs. The task of monitoring trainings at the Regional and District level has been entrusted to the faculty with the intention of improving the quality of trainings imparted at these levels.

On the consultancy and research front, the Institute has conducted a Training Needs Assessment Study, first of its kind for personnel working in the Department of Health & Family Welfare. The report also recommended a design of trainings that can be implemented in a phased manner. The Institute also initiated preparation of District Health Action Plans for three Districts (Mahabubnagar, Ananthapur and Vizianagaram) in the State under NRHM. In addition, it also undertook a number of studies, important ones being – Health Facility Survey; Evaluation Study on the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA); Integrated Disease Surveillance Project dealing with non-communicable diseases and risk factors; Reproductive Health among Adolescent Girls in Tribal Welfare Schools; and Situational Analysis of ANM Training Schools in AP.

I wish IIHFW continues with the good work it has been doing and contribute meaningfully to the development of health policy and service delivery at the grass roots level. The Institute website lists the activities it engages in, its faculty resources, trainings, research and consultancy. I sincerely hope that those who visit the website will find it relevant and useful.