The document discusses the need for a centralized digital repository for child health information in India, highlighting the current lack of coherence, authenticity, and accessibility of existing health repositories. It introduces the National Child Health Resource Centre (NCHRC) established to create a comprehensive repository that aggregates and disseminates child and maternal health information effectively. The plan includes collaboration with various national and international organizations to collect and manage relevant data, aiming to support policymakers and health professionals with accessible and reliable resources.

1. Development and Analysis of
Child Health Repository in
India
Mr. Anil Kumar Mishra
NCHRC, NIHFW
New Delhi

2. Finding Health Information
1. Current situation
• Too many sites
• Information often not digitized
• Quality?
• No authenticity of information
2. A good information
• Authentic and relevant
• Easy to find, use and build on
• Engage with provider
• Freely accessible

3. What is a Digital Repository?
A Digital Repository is an online locus for collecting,
preserving, and disseminating - in digital form –
the intellectual output of an institution, particularly
a research institution, organization or department.

4. Situational Analysis on Child Health
Repositories in India
Four of the commonly used existing repositories on health in India are
1. WHO-India Health Repository
2. National Health Information Collaboration (NHIC)
3. Policy Reforms Option Database (HS-PROD)
4. NGO Gateway
The available child health repositories are –
• Either not been updated or contains limited information
• Limited access
This has led to –
• Inadequate sharing and exchange of information
• lack of coherence between the needs and the programs
• Poor visibility of child health issues
• Duplication of efforts.

5. Elements of a possible solution
• A portal that aggregates health information on
the concerned topics from various sources
• Easy to locate without much “noise”
• Easy to use- formats, sharing, copyright cover
• Freely accessible
• Provided by known source you can engage with
This gave us the inspiration for a National
Repository on Child Health at NCHRC

6. NCHRC
National Child Health Resource Centre
(NCHRC) was established in 2008 at National
Institute of Health & Family Welfare (NIHFW)
with the approval from the Ministry of Health
& Family Welfare, Government of India and
with financial support from Norway India
Partnership Initiative & United Nations Office
for Project Services (NIPI - UNOPS).

7. Importance of a National Repository on
Child Health
• To achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4.
• NCHRC aims to strengthen the focus on child health and
related maternal health, mainstream child health
agenda in public health and create a platform at
national and state level for discussion and information
sharing on relevant issues.
• There is not a single place/source in India where child
health information is collated, managed and
disseminated in an effective manner.

8. Plan for Repository Development
• To develop a comprehensive ‘National Repository’ of
information on child health and related maternal health under
a single roof at the NIHFW.
• To collect published and unpublished information on child
health (not paediatric super-specialities) and related
maternal health by contacting government and non-
government agencies and international/national level
organizations.
• To make this resource freely available to the stakeholders
and facilitate sharing/exchange of information which would
lead to greater visibility of their work and prevent duplication
of efforts for the same issues.
• To disseminate updated information to stakeholders at all
levels using monthly bulletins, group emails, RSS alerts, etc.

9. Target Audience
Policy makers and analysts, academicians,
training institutions, child health and public
health professionals, state and district health
personnel working at the operational level,
frontline workers, staff working in government
and non-governmental organizations.

10. Sources for Collecting Information
1. National:
• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW),
• National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW)
• National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD)
• Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD)
• National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC)
• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
• Central Bureau of Health Intelligence(CBHI).
2. State:
• State Depts. of Health & Family Welfare
• State Institutes of Health and Family Welfare (SIHFWs),
• State Departments of Women and Child Development (DWCDs)
• Information Education & Communication cell (IEC cells).

11. 3. UN & International organizations:
• World Health Organization (WHO-SEARO)
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
• Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI)
• United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
• Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI)
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, etc.
4. NGO’s working in health in India (national & international):
PATH, Save the Children, CARE, CRS, SEARCH, CHETNA,
MAMTA, VHAI, CHAI, CMAI, PLAN, CINI, Pathfinder Int.,
McCarthur foundation, UHRC, etc.
5. Professional bodies/networks:
Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), National Neonatology
Forum (NNF), PHERC, IAPH, TNAI, IIHMR, PHFI, TISS, etc.

12. Guidelines for Collecting & Categorizing
Information
• Resource material received from various sources
• Transfer to folder ‘Unclassified material’
• Expert writes abstract, key words for material in a word
document file (doc.)
• Copy material to expert’s sub-folder in the folder ‘For
Reviewing’.
• Record entry with unique serial no. in ‘Log of records’
number.
• Transfer word document file to folder ‘Reviewed material’
• Transfer to folder ‘Categorized material’ and upload on
repository website categorized based on ‘List of categories’
• Categorize reviewed material based on ‘List of categories’

13. Selection of Software
• Done a feasible study of all the available open source
software like Joomla, Drupal.
• Selected Drupal CMS on Windows platform due to its
stability and compatibility for our requirements.

14. Customization & E-template development
• Customization of web pages according to the
requirement.
• Categorization of collected documents according to
the core areas.
• Metadata creation and uploading of information.
• Dissemination of information.
• Marketing through social networking and other tools

15. Repository on Child Health
• Launched in July 2010
• Collection & management of 500 resource materials
• Free/open access to full text document or resource
material for all users
• Categorization of information into specific Topics &
Themes
• Abstract, Keywords, Source & Year of Publication for
each document along with cover page photograph
• Thesaurus (standardized vocabulary) & Link keywords
www.childhealthindiainfo.com / www.childhealthindia.info

19. Source: Google Analytics

20. Thank you
Anil Mishra
http://twitter.com/anilkmishra