The goal of this faculty-initiated research project is to make the Harvard Chan School India Research Center a one-stop place to disseminate the latest evidence base on major public health problems in India. This initiative has a two-fold aim: (a) to build a knowledge repository that will create a dash board for stakeholders to obtain the latest evidence on public health subjects; (b) to build capacity among major stakeholders from the public, nonprofits, and the media to use evidence-base in their practice. The project is being led by Dr. K. “Vish” Viswanath, Lee Kum Kee Professor of Health Communication, Harvard Chan.
The proposed data portal, called Sanchar has been launched and can be accessed through: https://projectsanchar.org/
Project SANCHAR (Science and News: Communicating Health And Research) aims to build the capacity of journalists and decision-makers to draw on the latest science and data to shape public knowledge, attitudes and policy on health. The project has thus far trained over 200 journalists from 9 states and 70 districts in India and is now working with decision-makers.
Funder: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation