The renowned nonprofit Manbhum Ananda Ashram Nityananda Trust (MANT), which has received official recognition from the Union Government, recently unveiled the ardently devoted Centre For Public Health Research (CPHR) in Eastern India. For the occasion, a seminar on the “Importance of Public Health Research & the Role of CPHR” was organized.

The seminar was attended by several personalities, including noted Health Economist Dr. Barun Kanjilal, Dr. Raj Shankar Ghosh, Gates Foundation, New Delhi, Dr. Denny John, internationally acclaimed Research Methodologist; Mr. Pranay Lal, Senior Technical Advisor of The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, New Delhi, Ms. Papiya Sen, the Executive Director of MANT & Dr. Nirmalya Mukherjee, Director, MANT, and others.

Dr. Sanjay Kapur, Managing Director, JSI, New Delhi, Dr. Krishnamurthy Jyanna, Professor and Dean, Faculty of Life and Allied Health Sciences, Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru; Dr. Vinod Pavarala, Professor, UNESCO Chair on Community Media, University of Hyderabad and Mr. Naseer Atiq, SBC Specialist, Polio RRT, UNICEF – ESARO, Kenya joined the Seminar, virtually.

Expert authorities who have a close relationship with MANT were the ones who first came up with the idea for this unit. The vision that drove the creation of this distinctive alliance was the generation of evidence and the mapping of the future. It aims to take into account the potency, efficacy, and outcome of all of their creative scientific programs and plans, which they are periodically creating and putting into practice to bring about the necessary adjustments.

For the first time in the nation, MANT introduced the “DALY Calculator,” which paints a fair image of COVID-19’s negative effects on the State, the Nation, and the entire world. The “DALY Calculator,” which computes the DALY loss resulting from COVID, is available to researchers worldwide.

Based on its own unique computations, the “DALY Calculator” runs calculations. In order to arrive at the final conclusion and provide the general public with reliable information, it takes into account the total result of Years of Life Lost (YLL) and Years Lost Due to Disability (YLD). Years Lost Due to Impairment (YLD) refers to the loss of human lives as a result of any infection-driven disability, while Years of Life (YLL) refers to the incidence of untimely death brought on by a fatal catastrophe. Here, the severity of the handicap can also be separated into three categories: mild, moderate, and severe.

The seminar’s main goal was to raise awareness of the value of public health research and to encourage future researchers to get involved in public health studies.

Priyanka Dutta