National public health institutes

National public health institutes (NPHIs) are science-based governmental organizations that serve as a focal point for a country's public health efforts, as well as a critical component of global disease prevention and response systems.^[1] Among the better known NPHIs are the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Kingdom Health Protection Agency, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Typical core functions of NPHIs include surveillance for diseases and injuries, as well as risk factors; epidemiologic investigations of health problems; public health research; and response to public health emergencies.^[2] Recent public health challenges, such as this year's outbreak of H1N1 influenza, may have significant impacts on the missions and structures of NPHIs. Although these functions are in many countries dispersed among several agencies, in recent years some countries have reorganized their public health systems to consolidate functions. For example, following the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, the Canadian government created the Public Health Agency of Canada in order to ensure a more efficient and effective response in future outbreaks.^[3]

International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI)

IANPHI is a member organization of NPHIs that currently has members from 61 countries. IANPHI helps link the NPHIs of the world, so that they can share knowledge and experiences, in addition to providing support for NPHI development in low-resources countries. The majority of funding for IANPHI comes from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

See also

• Burnet Institute for Public Health
• Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors
• Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Brazil)
• International Association of National Public Health Institutes
• National Institute of Public Health of Japan
• National Institutes of Health, in the USA
• National Public Health Institute of Finland
• Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
• Norwegian Institute of Public Health
• Indian Institutes of Public Health
• People's Republic of China Public health and environment
• Royal Institute of Public Health
• Royal Society for Public Health

Notes

1. ^ Heymann, D.L. [Letter] (2008). NPHIs as focal points for leadership in prevention and control of infectious diseases. Journal of Public Health Policy, 29, 374-376.
2. ^ Binder, S., Adigun, L., Dusenbury, C., Greenspan, A., & Tanhuanpaa, P. (2008). National public health institutes: contributing to the public good. Journal of Public Health Policy, 29, 3-21.
3. ^ Binder, S., Adigun, L.E., & Greenspan, A. (2008). NPHI creation: lessons learned and future directions. Journal of Public Health Policy, 29, 459-466.

References

1. Koplan, J.P., Bond, T.C., Merson, M.H., Reddy, K.S., Rodriguez, M.H., Sewankambo, N.K, & Wasserheit, J.N., for the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Executive Board. (2009). Towards a common definition of global health. Lancet, 373, 1993–1995.
2. Frenk, J., & González-Block, M.Á. (2008). Institutional development for public health: learning the lessons, renewing the commitment, Journal of Public Health Policy, 29, 449-458.
3. Adigun, L., Dusenbury, C., & Schoub, B.D. (2007, November). Public health in Africa – the role of national public health institutes. South African Medical Journal, 97, 1036-1039.
4. Koplan, J.P., Dusenbury, C., Jousilahti, P., & Puska, P. (2007). The role of national public health institutes in health infrastructure development. British Medical Journal, 335, 834-835.
5. Koplan, J.P., Puska, P., Jousilahti, P., Cahill, K., & Huttunen, J. (2005). National Public Health Institute partners. Improving the world's health through national public health institutes. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 83, 154-157.

External links

• IANPHI's website
• South Africa National Institute for Communicable Diseases