school girls in Africa

Work

IANPHI spearheads improvements in national public health systems through peer-to-peer evaluation and peer-to-peer assistance, grant support and efforts focused on advocacy for national public health institutes (NPHIs), collaboration, and sustainability. 

Our Strategy at a Glance

Read the IANPHI Strategy 2021-2025

Our Projects

IANPHI provides direct funding to governments in low-income countries to build and strengthen national public health capacity through development of NPHIs. IANPHI's grant portfolio includes three types of projects: 

  • NPHI-to-NPHI evaluation of an institute's operations and individual programs or planning for new programs,
  • Long-term engagements to establish new NPHIs or transform existing institutes into more comprehensive NPHIs,
  • Targeted assistance to boost capacity of NPHIs.

Our Policy Work

IANPHI helps all of the world’s NPHIs by advocating for strong and well-supported NPHIS. IANPHI facilitates alliances among NPHIs and with strategic partners to catalyze support and investments for national public health systems.

IANPHI researches, assesses, and writes about the important role of national public health institutes in improving health outcomes. We focus on the strengthening of national public health systems and are a major contributor to the literature in this field. For example, the October 2007 issues of the BMJ and the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal featured commentaries by IANPHI colleagues highlighting the role of NPHIs in achievement of global health initiatives and arguing for provision of donor funding directly to national governments to strengthen public health infrastructure. A 2008 series published in the Journal of Public Health Policy reports and comments on findings from IANPHI's surveys of member NPHIs using our framework of core attributes and functions. Links to these publications and others are available in our bibliographies below. They illustrate the role of NPHIs as purveyors of public goods and strengthen the case for their support. 

View IANPHI's Oxford Bibliography

View IANPHI's NCBI Bibliography


In addition to our theoretical work, IANPHI also develops benchmarks and tools that countries, NPHIs, and peer-assistance teams use to assess, develop, and improve NPHIs and optimize delivery of core public health functions. The IANPHI Framework for the Creation and Development of National Public Health Institutes, developed through a task force of IANPHI members and approved by its General Assembly in 2006, provides a road map for those interested in creating or strengthening NPHIs.

IANPHI has also developed a series of tools for NPHIs:

  • Case studies to illustrate the varied historical and political beginnings of key NPHIs. These case studies provide new perspectives on the various ways in which public health has developed in nations around the world. These perspectives and the personal insights of the institute directors who were interviewed for the studies are helpful when considering expanding or improving NPHIs and are a unique source of benchmarking information.
  • Best Practices to provide suggestions for NPHIs on a range of topics related to internal-facing issues, such as those related to leadership and management.
  • The Staged Development Tool to help NPHIs assess their current capacity and develop a roadmap for achieving a higher level of functioning.

Leadership

IANPHI is a professional association for NPHI directors, fostering a community of public health leadership dedicated to knowledge sharing, collaboration, and cooperation. By linking the assets and leadership of NPHIs around the world, IANPHI provides a platform for collective action and shared solutions in addressing public health challenges and opportunities. The common history, knowledge, and expertise of our member institutes are a powerful force for transforming public health around the world.