Public health is a vast field. It is built up by everyone working on any problem anywhere. Therefore, it is unlikely that there is a one directory for public health in India. But, in this page, I’ll just document the groups I’m aware of and what I think they are.

The information on this page is not guaranteed to be accurate. It is provided on a best-effort basis. Please contact me if you would like to get connected/join any of these groups. I’ll do my best to connect you.

mfc and friends

https://mfcindia.org/

medico friends circle is a 50+ year old network of individuals who have been inspired from the 1970’s wave of pro-poor sentiments in India, and the descendants of those thought streams. It is like a vast solidarity group where a lot of conversation happens. It is presently on a google group eGroup, and has annual meetings mostly in central India. If you would like to join, please email me.

http://phmindia.org/

mfc is closely related to the group called Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA) which is in many ways seen as the “action” group (for the think tank that mfc is).

JSA claims credit for the formation of National Rural Health Mission in India. There has been an attempt to reactivate JSA in its 25th year in 2024-25 and this included formation of some thematic working groups (like the one on digital health). If you would like to join JSA discuss e-group or this thematic group, email me.

Now, there are several state level groups which might or might not list them under JSA. These include

JSA Delhi, JSA Madhya Pradesh, Jan Arogya Abhiyan (Maharashtra), MNI (Tamil Nadu), Sarvatrika Arogya Andolana Karnataka

There are also related groups like Right to Food campaign. https://www.righttofoodcampaign.in/

“Resource” groups

Several groups like SOCHARA, CEHAT formed as NGOs that would provide the scholarship necessary for groups like JSA. (I don’t know, probably).

SOCHARA runs a course called Community Health Learning Program which has a large group of alumni. There’s a small related group called “Swades” setup independently which is on WhatsApp (message me to get added)

Rural healthcare groups

Several people (often doctor couples) moved to villages and set up rural hospitals. A good directory of these groups is available in http://ruralhospitalnetwork.org/

As of November 2025, here are the groups that are listed on RHN website:

  1. Gudalur Adivasi Hospital (Tamil Nadu)
  2. Swasthya Swaraj Comprehensive Community Health Programme (Odisha)
  3. Aarohi Arogya Kendra (AAK) (Uttarakhand)
  4. Jan Swasthya Sahyog (Chhattisgarh)
  5. Amader Haspatal (West Bengal)
  6. Chetna Mahila Swasthya Kendra (Jharkhand)
  7. Rishi Valley Rural Health Centre (Andhra Pradesh)
  8. Tribal Health Initiative (Tamil Nadu)
  9. Sangwari Community Clinic (Chhattisgarh)
  10. Manasa Nursinghome- Thirthahalli (Karnataka) (Karnataka)
  11. Vivekananda Memorial Hospital, Saragur (Karnataka)
  12. Amrit Clinics (Basic Healthcare Services)(Rajasthan)
  13. Van Allen hospital (Tamil Nadu)
  14. Kasturba Hospital (SEWA Rural) (Gujarat)
  15. Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (Assam)
  16. Vivekananda Girijana Arogya Kendra (Karnataka)
  17. Shaheed Hospital (Chhattisgarh)
  18. MAHAN Mahatma Gandhi Tribal Hospital (Maharashtra)
  19. Padhar Hospital (Madhya Pradesh)
  20. KC Patty CF Primary Health Center (Tamil Nadu)
  21. Kalyan Hospital, Dumka (Jharkhand)
  22. Nilgiris Wynaad Tribal Welfare Society (NWTWS) (Tamil Nadu)
  23. St. Ann’s Hospital, Elathagiri, Tamil Nadu (Tamil Nadu)
  24. Trust for Reaching the Unreached (TRU) (Gujarat)
  25. Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital, Mastichak (Bihar)
  26. Vishnu Dental Care (Andhra Pradesh)
  27. Sirumalai Health Center (Tamil Nadu)
  28. Christian Hospital Ambilikkai (Tamil Nadu)
  29. Dr. Kiran C. Patel Multispecialty Hospital (Vanbandhu Arogya Dham) (Gujarat)
  30. Alpha Health Clinic (Maharashtra)
  31. INDIGENOUS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION HEALTH CENTRE (Telangana)
  32. Purna clinic (Gujarat)
  33. PRASAD Chikitsa (Maharashtra)
  34. Anjali Hospital (Gujarat)
  35. ARTH Health Centers (Gujarat)
  36. LOK BIRADARI PRAKALP HOSPITAL, HEMALKASA (Maharashtra)
  37. JMJ HOSPITAL KADABA (Karnataka)
  38. Lady Willingdon Hospital Manali (Himachal Pradesh)

The best thing to come out of these groups, is something called a “rural sensitization program”. For example, here’s THI’s page on it. There is also the Travel Fellowship which literally produces the next generation of public health leaders in India.

Also, there is NIRMAN program by SEARCH

Here are some other groups not listed above:

Doctor groups

There is a group called Academy of Family Physicians of India which is working on primary care. They run a journal called Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. https://www.afpionline.com/ https://journals.lww.com/jfmpc/pages/default.aspx

There’s a group called https://jeevaraksha.org/ which works on emergency medicine training across Karnataka.

Apart from the RSP group above, there are groups of good doctors centered around CMC Vellor, St John’s medical college.

Research groups

There are institutes like Institue of Public Health, Bengaluru. https://iphindia.org/

https://www.georgeinstitute.org.in/

Newer groups

https://www.yumetta.org/ works on programs like go-to-people camp.

https://nivarana.org/ works on becoming an online publication platform.

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