FAQs
What is IANPHI?
IANPHI – the International Association of National Public Health Institutes – is a worldwide alliance of member institutes and public health partners united by a belief in the importance of strong public health systems to improve health outcomes around the world. IANPHI strengthens the world’s public health systems by creating, strengthening, and linking national public health institutes, or NPHIs.
What is an NPHI?
An NPHI (national public health institute) is a science-based organization that provides national leadership and expertise for a country’s efforts to protect and improve health.
To do the job of public health – i.e., recognize, measure, and tackle health challenges through population-based interventions – every country must carry out a recognized set of public health functions that are linked in some way. Key among these functions are:
• Population health assessment (assessing the health status of the population)
• Health protection (surveillance and response)
• Research (evidence to inform policies and programs)
Many countries consolidate these functions organizationally in a “national public health institute.” That is, they centralize public health expertise and activities within one institution (or network of institutions) that provides leadership and coordination for public health at the national level. In most cases, NPHIs are part of the national government (usually under the Ministry of Health) or closely attached to it.
Some NPHIs, such as those in Brazil and Finland, have existed for decades. Others, such as the Public Health Agency of Canada, were created in response to recent public health challenges that highlighted limitations in capacity, leadership, and coordination. Some countries, such as Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique, are actively working to create NPHIs in the next few years.
Why NPHIs?
• NPHIs are needed to respond to acute events and major health crises. In Canada and Hong Kong in 2003, the SARS outbreak exposed shortcomings in public health systems, leadership, collaboration, and capacity. The response was to create NPHIs (Public Health Agency of Canada; Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection) with responsibility, authority, and accountability for public health response and health protection.
• NPHIs are needed to conduct and coordinate the routine public health functions that are the cornerstone of strong public health systems. Dispersal of central public health functions among several ministries, sub-ministries, and departments constrains countries in addressing public health crises as well as day-to-day functions and can also lead to costly bureaucratic redundancies. By aggregating and centralizing public health functions in an NPHI, countries reap many benefits.
• NPHIs are needed to absorb donor funds and coordinate donor activities. Many low-resource countries are deluged with funds for vertical, disease-specific programs from multiple and fragmented donors. The funding priorities of these donors do not necessarily reflect national public health priorities. NPHIs provide a centralized mechanism and “home” for managing and coordinating these funds.
• NPHIs are needed to create a central focus for public health career development and build national capacity. NPHIs provide a career path and a nucleus of public health professionals to carry out core functions.
What does IANPHI do?
IANPHI spearheads improvements in public health infrastructure through direct grant support
to NPHIs. From technical assistance visits to extended NPHI development initiatives, IANPHI works with priority countries to build and enhance public health institutes at the national level. By working collaboratively with low-resource countries to develop and improve NPHIs, IANPHI aims to optimize delivery of core public health functions and improve public health systems worldwide.
The NPHI grant program seeks to strengthen public health systems by strengthening NPHIs. IANPHI achieves this through two different avenues:
- Assisting existing NPHIs with direct grant support to both increase the breadth and depth of their infrastructure and capacity and to move them along the continuum toward full complement of public health functions.
- Establishing new NPHIs through direct grant support to countries in order to strengthen national public health systems through the creation of new NPHIs.
In a landmark benchmarking effort, IANPHI is systematically characterizing the community and range of NPHIs, to provide a basis for assessing and supporting their development. The cornerstone of this effort is publication of The Framework for Creation and Development of the NPHIs . Other activities include NPHI surveys and case studies and a web-based NPHI Toolkit .
IANPHI promotes linkages among members to share solutions and increase resources through global and regional meetings, internet-based communications, and publications. A seed grant program and other efforts encourage collaborative research projects.
Who are IANPHI’s members?
IANPHI’s member institutes span the globe, from Colombia’s Instituto Nacional de Salud to the UK’s Health Protection Agency, South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases, and the China CDC. For a full listing of member NPHIs, click here: http://www.ianphi.org/members/ianphi_member_nphis/
How is IANPHI governed and managed?
IANPHI is governed by a President, Vice-President, and elected Executive Board. IANPHI is managed by a Secretariat located in Helsinki, Finland, and a Sub-Secretariat housed in Emory University’s Global Health Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
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