Biography
Dr. Nirmalya Mukherjee, Chief Executive of the Centre for Public Health Research at MANT, has 25 years of experience in health and development. He holds an MSW (1999), an MPH from Mahidol University (2010), and a PhD in AIDS communication (2020). Dr. Mukherjee has led numerous projects, published 40 peer-reviewed papers, and heads MANT's Tobacco Control and Community Media Initiative for the last 12 years. Since 2022, he has also led the JBI-affiliated Centre on Indigenous Health and Manipal University's doctoral training centre. For the past 17 years, he has spearheaded TB control initiatives among indigenous communities in eastern India.
Key Impacts
Prevalence and trend of tuberculosis cases in tribal-dominated districts in India: A time series analysis
While the analysis reveals seasonal and increasing trends in notified TB cases in tribal districts, it remains unclear whether these reflect true incidence patterns or seasonal shifts in healthcare access and reporting. This underscores urgent need for community-engaged research to investigate underlying socio-economic drivers and guide effective, context-specific responses. Current top-down strategies risk missing large segments of vulnerable populations, necessitating more inclusive, participatory, and locally informed interventions.
Source: Conference 2024