LSE's Global Health Initiative is pleased to host a seminar with representatives of the Initiative for Health Equity Advocacy and Research (iHEAR) Sangath: Harikeerthan Raghuram and Anant Bhan.
Despite historical recognition, the LGBTQIA+ communities in India are still marginalised. Recent policy changes have created a window of opportunity but has been further complicated by global political scenario. There are parallels in challenges faced by the disability community. This seminar will feature Dr. Harikeerthan Raghuram (LSE MSc HID alum) and Dr. Anant Bhan from the initiative for Health Equity Advocacy and Research (iHEAR), hosted at Sangath – a leading mental health research NGO in India. They will speak on the current policy landscape, some of the innovative work done by their team on healthcare access, medical education and mental health and discuss issues around ethics and justice in work with marginalised communities. This seminar will be of interest to anyone aspiring to work in the intersections of health equity, mental health and medical education especially in India.
Meet Our Speakers
Harikeerthan Raghuram (he/him) is a health equity researcher working with the LGBTQIA+ and disability communities. After witnessing disparities in healthcare as a family physician in rural India, he trained in Health and International Development from the London School of Economics (LSE) to work towards health systems reform. He currently serves as Associate Director (Health Equity) at Sangath, Bhopal where he co-leads the initiative for Health Equity Advocacy and Research (iHEAR). He is also a Wellcome Trust Masters Scholar and a India Health Policy and Systems Research Fellow. Find him on LinkedIn and X/Twitter.
Anant Bhan has over two decades of experience in bioethics, global health research and health policy. Anant has been past president of the International Association of Bioethics (2017-19). Anant serves as the PI, investigator and mentor of several projects at Sangath, one of India’s leading health research organizations and is based in Sangath’s Bhopal Hub. Anant is also an Adjunct Professor in Yenepoya (deemed to be University), India. He is one of the founding members of the initiative for Health Equity Advocacy and Research (iHEAR), Sangath. His work is focused on ethics and equity in health, mental health, digital health, public health ethics, research ethics, community engagement, and training for health professionals. Anant is a member of the WHO COVID-19 Ethics & Governance Working Group, the Steering Committee of the Global Forum for Bioethics in Research, WHO Guideline Development Group (GDG) focused on post covid-19 conditions and was part of the CIOMS Working Group on Good Governance Practice for Research Institutions. Find him on LinkedIn, X/Twitter and Bluesky.
Our chair will be Ernestina Coast, Professor of Health and International Development in the Department of International Development at LSE. Her research is multidisciplinary and positioned at an intersection of social science approaches including health, gender and development.
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