Public Health Foundation of India

The document is prepared by the Training Division of Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) for Biju Patnaik State Police Academy, Bhubaneswar, Odisha which outlines the hazards associated with policing duty, the risks involved and the risk mitigation measures that should be followed to protect police personnel against COVID- 19.

This document has been prepared with the information collected and collated from various guidelines issued by national and international agencies such as World Health Organization (WHO), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and from published literature. As with all guidelines, during the COVID Pandemic, this also has to be considered a dynamic one and may need changes as per the behavior of the pandemic, health care and law enforcement resources and governmental notifications.

Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) with Global Insurance Brokers Private Limited, has come out with a ‘Health and Safety Handbook for the Workplace – An employer’s guide for post-lockdown operations in non-healthcare settings’.

This handbook has been prepared as a guidance tool for employers, to generate awareness and enable them to implement risk mitigation measures at their workplace, in order to provide a safe and healthy environment for their employees. Currently, there are many gaps in our understanding of the pandemic and there is an urgent need to develop safe and effective counter measures to tackle COVID-19 at the community, workplace and society level. This handbook has been designed to help businesses respond to COVID-19 and to help in their preparedness for the post Lockdown scenario, with the best available information available currently. This initiative was led by Dr Preeti Kumar, VP, PHFI

How long is the virus going to be with us? is anybody’s guess and it all depends on an interplay of many complex factors, given the fact that India is a Country with a population of more than 1.3 billion.

However, continuing to prevent the spread of the virus, (even after lifting of the lockdown) in an organized and scientific manner in the hospital set up can save human lives and hasten exit of the virus from the human population.

This warrants special skills to manage this crisis situation, which we as members of the Medical fraternity are practicing day in and day out, such as effective leadership, communication, teamwork, counselling and guidance.

In this situation counselling to the hospital staff to face unforeseen eventualities is of utmost importance.

This document while enlisting details of the protocols to be followed in a hospital following lifting of the lockdown aims to ensure safety of the patients as also that of the staff working in the hospitals. The recommendations are a set of dynamic suggestions which will change with time and as the pandemic progress.

Together we can conquer the pandemic.

The novel Coronavirus is changing the way we interact in our daily lives. We can stay healthy and prevent the virus from entering our homes and protecting our families by following a few simple steps and practices.

The book on Coronavirus for children has been conceptualised and designed keeping in mind the nuances of the Indian context and to empower children with simple practical information so they are our “ambassadors for good health”.

The Pictorial Guide on Biomedical Waste Management (BMWM) Rules, 2016 (amended in 2018 & 2019) is a product of joint research by the Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC), Centre for Environmental Health (CEH) −Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Health Care Without Harm (HCWH). The guide is a compilation of important strategies that are key to appropriate management of biomedical waste in India. The pictorial guide provides a quick, user-friendly view of the important elements of biomedical waste handling, treatment and disposal through its illustrative components. These are based on the specifications provided in the BMWM Rules, 2016 and its subsequent amendments. Importantly, the guide also includes the provisions for COVID-19 waste management as prescribed in the Central Pollution Control Board Guidelines 2020.

COVID-19 is an unprecedented pandemic which has led to millions being affected and thousands dying every day across the world. The Government of India has announced a 21-day lockdown to prevent COVID-19 transmission in India -essentially buying time for health systems to be better prepared. While tertiary care systems are also being prepared it is important to ensure preparedness of Primary Health Centres.

Towards this mammoth effort, the Indian medical and public health community is contributing in a big way. To ensure preparedness of Primary Health Centres in rural/community settings, 15 clinicians and public health experts from leading institutions, including The George Institute for Global Health, India formed the COVID-19 PHC Action Group. The COVID-19 PHC Action group, a collaborative is led by Dr Prashanth NS, Institute of Public Health, Bangalore. Dr Giridhara Babu- Head Lifecourse Epidemiology, PHFI contributed to this important piece of work.