Ravi Narayan
Archivist, Advisor, Philosopher, Story Teller
Dr Ravi Narayan is a Public Health Consultant and Health Policy Researcher who has been involved with promoting the social / community paradigm in public health education and public health system development for over three decades in various capacities.
He was a faculty member at St John’s Medical College, Bangalore, and an overseas faculty of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine before initiating the Society for Community Health Awareness, Research and Action – a health policy resource group working with State and Central governments, international health agencies, NGOs and civil society and peoples movements in the country and globally since 1984. He has been a resource person for WHO, WHO-SEARO, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Planning Commission, Malaria Research Centre – ICMR, and a host of Indian and international networks and campaigns.
From 2000 AD he has been closely involved with the development of the people’s health movement in India (Jan Swasthya Abhiyan) and the Global movement. He was the joint convener of the Indian movement till 2003. From 2003 – 2006 he was the Coordinator of the Global Secretariat of the People’s Health Movement (PHM) – the global movement promoting the Health for All goal. During his phase of coordinatorship, PHM also evolved the Right to Health Campaign; the Global Health Watch; and the International People’s Health University. He is also a member of the Foundation Council of the Global Forum for Health Research, Geneva, promoting public health research on health systems and social determinants.
In 2006, he was invited to be a founding governing body member of the Public Health Foundation of India, and an International Advisory board member of the British Medical Journal to strengthen public health perspectives.
He is also a Consultant of the National Rural Health Mission of the Government of India and a Member of the Medical Education Task Force and a Member of its steering Committee on Primary Health Care for the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12) of the Planning Commission, Government of India and its sub group on AYUSH and Public Health. Since Feb 2009 Dr. Narayan is working closely with WHO- SEARO evolving a document which is both a conceptual framework and a guideline for integrated management of public health programmes at a district level for the region.
Presently he is also the chairperson of the Research Advisory Committee of the newly initiated Institute for Ayurvedic and Integrated Medicine in Bangalore; expert member of the appraisal and approval committees of some of the grant in aid schemes of the AYUSH department in the Health Ministry; and a member of the Planning Commission steering group on AYUSH for the 12th plan (2012-17) ”
He has also been a supporter of strengthening the mental health component of Primary Health Care and Public Health and was a participant in the WHO/ Lancet survey of experts on mental health policy conducted a few years ago.
Dr. Narayan along with his colleagues in SOCHARA has been among the foremost proponents of the community health paradigm in the country evolving its frame work, axioms, and associated concepts such as the paradigm shift, the social vaccine and socio epidemiology.