Strengthening Public Health in Urban India: The Role of National Urban Health Mission

This note highlights the role of population-based public health; both in preventing disease outbreaks and managing those outbreaks whenever they occur. While its importance is well recognised in developed countries that have a well functioning system in place, India is yet to gear itself up to meeting public health challenges that will only magnify with urbanisation. In fact, India needs to look no further than its own state of Tamil Nadu that has instituted an effective system that this note examines with the view of its replication by other states.