Evidence into Public Health Policy (EPHP)

We are pleased to report the successful completion of the 4th edition of the Evidence into Public Health Policy (EPHP) conference, held on September 5-6, 2024 in Bengaluru, India.
 
EPHP is a leading national conference series that fosters dialogue between researchers, practitioners and policymakers to drive public health policy changes. Since its inception, EPHP has played a vital role in advancing discussions on health policy and systems in India and the region, with the aim of bridging the gap between evidence generation and policy formulation. The series has become a platform for knowledge sharing, with an emphasis on making science accessible and actionable.
 
The 4th edition of EPHP 2024 was organized by the Asia-Pacific Regional Network of Health Systems Global (HSG), in collaboration with The George Institute for Global Health, India, Institute of Public Health (IPH) Bengaluru, National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases (NIIR-NCD), Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) Antwerp, and hosted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, under the guidance of Dr. Devaki Nambiar and Dr. Pragati Hebbar, an HSG Board Members.
 
This 4th edition not only continued the tradition of fostering meaningful dialogue but also served as the Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue for the upcoming Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR2024) in Nagasaki, Japan, scheduled for November 18-22, 2024. Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the event focused on discussions around Health Governance, Policy, and Institutional Frameworks for Just and Sustainable Health Systems.
 
EPHP 2024: Overview
The 4th edition of EPHP brought together over 200 participants, including researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, to discuss critical challenges facing health systems in the Asia-Pacific region. The conference centered on four key sub-themes:
Governance and Institutional Frameworks for Complex Health Systems – Addressing how policies can support collaboration between public and private sectors.
Governance to Strengthen Public Health and Address Commercial and Cultural Determinants – Discussing how governance can address challenges such as pandemic preparedness and the influence of commercial interests on public health.
Stewardship of Digital Transformations – Focusing on the role of digital health technologies and AI in transforming health systems, with an emphasis on governance and ethical considerations.
Implementation Research: Innovations in method and translation – Thinking about the particular role of implementation research in helping to bridge the “know do” gap while also considering more embedded and engaged modes of research.
 
Key Achievements
EPHP 2024 resulted in significant outcomes that have contributed to health systems strengthening in the region:
Knowledge Dissemination: Researchers, including early-career professionals, presented their findings, creating an environment for knowledge sharing and practical solutions.
Proceedings were opened by the Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research, with the former Health Minister of Bhutan, a former health secretary of the union government, senior bureaucrats of health, local self government and other government ministries and agencies alongside academic luminaries and emerging stars sharing their insights over the first two days. We also got our minds and bodies in check through an art and health workshop led by organisations working in Bengaluru.
Meeting publicity
https://www.iimb.ac.in/cpp-at-iimb-hsr2024
https://www.georgeinstitute.org.in/events/bringing-evidence-to-public-health-policy-health-systems-research-2024-asia-pacific-dialogue
 
Strengthened Regional Collaboration: The conference fostered dialogue between regional stakeholders, allowing for an exchange of knowledge and strategies for improving health governance and policy.
We were able to convene a meeting of a senior bureaucrat and officials from the Thai National Health Commission office to advance collaboration on Social Participation for Health and offer space and provocation for many other exciting conversations and nascent collaborations, including with the Government of Karnataka.

We are proud to have planted an Ashoka tree to commemorate this collaboration at the IIMB campus – hoping that we are able to nurture local, national and international academic and policymaker collaboration, coproduction and solidarity in service of justice in health systems in the years to come.
 
Policy Impact: The discussions generated actionable insights that are poised to influence health policies and systems reform in the region. On day one, for example (see Photo 7), the policy roundtable, the former Health Minister of Bhutan provided an illustration of cervical cancer policy development, which began in the 2010s in the country, making it the first to introduce HPV vaccination in the region and one of the first countries on track to achieve cervical cancer elimination by 2030.
 
Planning Board Member, PK Jameela laid out with candour and circumspection the difficult journey of bringing one stop crisis centres to Kerala hospitals through the genesis of the Bhoomika programme, which she named, and which faced great initial resistance, overcome with a combination of evidence and persistence.
 
Former Health Secretary of the Union Government, Sujatha Rao provided numerous illustrations of using evidence, including determining what evidence was even needed, in the evolution of India’s HIV/AIDS response – setting up, as early as 1988 a surveillance system and then building from that.  She talked about the challenges that remain in the use of evidence.
 
Sampath Kumar, Principal Secretary and Commissioner Health had the unique distinction of starting his tenure during COVID. The spectre of and evidence surrounding maternal mortality loomed large in the state and interventions to address this important inequality were introduced almost immediately. Since then, there has continued to be layering of efforts
 
Policymakers underscored the need for data + leadership + governance with careful addition of imagination and wisdom as key ingredients for transformative change in the health sector.
 
Newer challenges loomed large, of over medicalization, gross inequalities, the range and depth of care needs to manage NCDs – requiring nothing short of a radical refocus on comprehensive primary health care.
 
Media interest: The meeting received media attention owing to the high profile nature of many of the delegates
https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/4th-national-conference-on-public-health-policy-to-showcase-unreleased-research-3177400
Experts highlight need for scalable, evidence-based public health solutions (deccanherald.com)
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/national-conference-on-health-policy-and-systems-research-begins-at-iimb/article68609491.ece
 
Role of BMGF Support
The support from BMGF was instrumental in delivering the 4th edition of EPHP. The grant enabled:
Broad Participation: Funding for travel and accommodation for over 80 participants from 7 countries allowed key stakeholders, including early-career researchers and policymakers, to attend and contribute to the conference.

High-Quality Event Execution: The grant supported the professional organization of the conference, including venue setup, technology and hybrid event facilitation.
Inclusive Platform: BMGF's funding helped create an inclusive platform that amplified the voices of marginalized groups, ensuring that a wide range of perspectives were represented in the discussions.
Conference Program and Structure
The program of EPHP 2024 was designed to foster in-depth discussions and collaborations across the three thematic areas. Highlights of the event include:
Keynote Presentations: International experts delivered insightful talks on governance and institutional frameworks, focusing on global lessons and regional applications.
Panel Discussions: Panels featured regional policymakers, researchers, and community representatives who responded to the challenges presented in each sub-theme.
Research Presentations: Researchers from across the region shared their work through oral presentations and posters, contributing to a rich exchange of ideas and evidence.
Post-Conference Skill-Building Session: The third day featured a workshop led by IPH for early career scholars, working on field insights, communication and presentation skills.
 
Next Steps
Looking forward, the outcomes from EPHP 2024 will inform the HSG’s Asia-Pacific Regional Session at the HSR2024 Global Symposium in Nagasaki. Our next steps include:
Disseminating the outcomes of EPHP 2024 through regional and global platforms to ensure broader policy impact.
Collaborating on further research inspired by the conference’s discussions, with a focus on advancing health governance and systems reform.
Publishing selected abstracts in BMC Supplements to ensure the visibility of research findings and their contribution to global health discourse.