Call for departments of public health at all medical colleges in India

Public Health has always been important for the general public, governments, and governance as it deals with the objective of improving population health through prevention, promotion, and health education. Public Health is defined as “the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts of society” (Acheson, 1988; WHO). The COVID 19 pandemic has brought a focus on the concept of public health more than ever. Independent departments of Public Health do not exist at medical colleges in India. Public health is a multidisciplinary domain. The body of knowledge is cross-cutting and multidimensional in nature. Public health education is optimal only with the contribution of the participating faculty from different educational and professional backgrounds. Lack of strong public health academics may adversely impact the capacity to formulate indigenous public health policy. In many parts of the developing world, public health policies are heavily influenced by the knowledge developed by the western universities within the domain of global health. Global health policies and goals become synonymous with national health goals. For the democratic republic of India, there is an urgent need to strengthen the public health education system so that the future challenges of health, safety, economy, security can be met The National Medical Commission (NMC) has invited comments on the draft postgraduate medical education regulations 2021. It is an apt opportunity to fundamentally reform public health education in India.