Ritu Priya

Ritu Priya is Professor at the Centre of Social Medicine & Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. A medical graduate with a Ph.D. in Community Health, her work links epidemiology, political economy, popular culture, and health systems research for decentralized planning, policy formulation and analysis. It has been specifically focused on an eco-social epidemiological approach to urban health, health of marginalised groups, problems of nutrition and communicable diseases. She also works on inter-disciplinary research methodologies, health technology assessment and the ethics of public health.

She was Advisor (Public Health Planning) with the National Health Systems Resource Centre, a technical support institution under the National Rural Health Mission for two years, and has been member of Task Forces of the Planning Commission, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the Ministry/Department of AYUSH, and the National AIDS Control Organisation in India. She is founding member of the Trans-disciplinary Research Cluster for Sustainability Studies and the Trans-disciplinary Research Cluster on Plural Health Care at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Some Relevant Publications

• Ritu Priya, Sanghmitra Acharya, Rama Baru, Vikas Bajpai, Ramila Bisht, Rajib Dasgupta, Prachinkumar Ghodajkar, Nemthiang Guite, Sunita Reddy: Beyond Biomedical and Statistical Approaches in COVID-19: How Shoe-leather Public Health Works. Economic & Political Weekly, October 31, 2020 vol lV no 44, p. 47-58.

• Ritu Priya, Sanghmitra Acharya, Rama Baru, Vikas Bajpai, Ramila Bisht, Prachinkumar Ghodajkar, Nemthiang Guite, Sunita Reddy. Indian Public Health Associations on COVID-19 The Politics of Knowledge. Economic & Political Weekly, August 8, 2020, vol lV nos 32 & 33, p/ 19-22.

• Priya R, Sujatha V. AYUSH for COVID‐19: Science or Superstition? Indian J Public Health 2020;64:S105‐7.

• Priya R., Singh R, Das S. (2019). Health Implications of Diverse Visions of Urban Spaces: Bridging the Formal-Informal Divide. Front. Public Health 7:239. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2019.00239

• Priya R, Gaitonde R., Gandhi M.P, Sarkar, A., Das S., Ghodajkar P. (2019). The Alm-Ata Declaration and Elements for a PHC 2.0. Medico Friend Circle Bulletin, No. 380, 1-8.

• http://www.mfcindia.org/mfcpdfs/MFC380.pdf

• Gaitonde R., Priya R., Sarkar, A., Das S., Ghodajkar P., Gandhi M.P. (2019). Some Thoughts on Health for All: the Rationale for engaging with the Politics of Knowledge. Medico Friend Circle Bulletin, No. 380, 9-15.

• Ghodajkar P., Das S., Sarkar, A., Gandhi M.P., Gaitonde R., Priya R. (2019). Towards Reframing the Operational Design for HFA 2.0: Factoring in Politics of Knowledge in Health Systems. Medico Friend Circle Bulletin, No. 380, 16-25.

• Priya, R. and Kurian C.M. (2018) Regulating Access and Protecting Traditional Health Knowledge through Intellectual Property Rights? Issues from a Holistic Health Systems Per spective. Science, Technology & Society 23:3 (2018): 1–26.

• ‘Integration of Health Knowledge Systems as desired policy goal’. Heritage Amruth, April 2016, vol. 12 no. 2, article no. 08.

• The Structural Basis of Corruption in Healthcare in India, in Healers or Predators? Healthcare Corruption in India Editors: Nundy S., Desiraju K., Nagral, S., Oxford University Press, 2018, New Delhi. Pp. 3-43. (with Prachinkumar Ghodajkar)

• ‘State, Community and Primary Health Care: Empowering or Disempowering Discourses?’ in Equity and Access: Health Care Studies in India. Editors: Prasad P.N.and Jesani A., Oxford University Press, 2018, New Delhi. Pp. 25-49.

• Priya R. Lok Swasthya mein Samagrata ki Khoj. Health Swaraaj Samvaad, New Delhi, 2017.

• Priya, R.; Bisht, R.; Randhawa, P.; Arora, M.; Dolley, J.; McGranahan, G.; Marshall, F. (2017) Local Environmentalism in Peri-Urban Ghaziabad: Emergent Ecological Democracy? STEPS Centre Working Paper, Brighton, UK.

• Guest Editorial--Toward a Community-centered Public Service System for Universal Health Care in India. Indian Journal of Public Health, Volume 57, Issue 4, October-December, 2013. pp 1-4.

• Aren’t Technological Choices Central to Designing Health Systems? Indian Journal of Public Health, Volume 57, Issue 4, October-December, 2013, pp 40-46.

• Developing a Public Health Cadre in 21st Century India: Addressing Gaps in Technical, Administrative and Social Dimensions of Public Health Services. Indian Journal of Public Health, Volume 57, Issue 4, October-December, 2013. pp 47-52. (with co-author Anjali Chikersal)

• 'The Status and Role of AYUSH and Local Health Traditions in Public Health', the Newsletter, No. 65, Autumn 2013, International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), Leiden. pp 24-25.

• ‘AYUSH and Public Health: Democratic Pluralism and the Quality of Health Services’, in Sujatha V. & Abraham L. (Ed. ) Medical Pluralism in Contemporary India, Orient Blackswan, 2012. p. 103-129

• Status and Role of AYUSH Services and Use of Local Health Traditions under the NRHM: A Health Systems Study Across 18 States (co-author: Shweta Awasthi Saxena), National Health Systems Resource Centre, 2010.

• Mainstreaming AYUSH & Revitalising Local Health Traditions under the NRHM: a Health Systems Perspective (prepared by Ritu Priya & Shweta A-Saxena). Monograph, NHSRC (NRHM, MOHFW, GOI), New Delhi. 2009

• Dialogue on AIDS: Perspectives for the Indian Context, Editors Ritu Priya & Shalina Mehta, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Pub., Delhi. 2008.

• 'Universal Access to Health Care: threats and Opportunities', Economic & Political Weekly, June 25, 2011 vol xlvi, nos 26 & 27. (with Anil Gupta & others)

• "UAHC with 'Community Participation' OR 'People Centre-stage'? Implications for Governance, Provisioning and Financing". MFC bull., Nos. 345-347, Feb-July, 2011, p. 9-15.

• ‘Swasthya: Paramparik Aur Adhunik Main Samvad’ Lokayan Bull. (Hindi). Vol. 4, No.4,1987.