title: MPH program at Manipal University, India-experiences, challenges, and lessons learned.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The UAB-ITREOH program has initiated a skill-based MPH program at Manipal University (MU), India, in 2009, to address the critical need for trained public health professionals and build institutional public health training capacity in the country.
  
  
  METHODS
  Funds from Fogarty have supported the curriculum development and specialized training of MU faculty to teach in the MPH program.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The program has been successfully launched and is gaining momentum. The lessons learned from our experiences as well as several challenges faced from the initialization to execution of the program are described in the article.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Government support is crucial for raising the profile of this program by accreditation, creating job opportunities and by recognizing these professionals as leaders in the public health sector.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Karnataka, India. vinod.bhat@manipal.edu
authors.forename: Hattangadi Vinod
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.forename: Ramachandra
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kamath
authors.forename: Govindakarnavar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arunkumar
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delzell
authors.forename: Meghan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tipre
authors.forename: Divvy Kant
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Upadhyay
authors.forename: Nalini
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sathiakumar
mesh_terms: D057191:Capacity Building; D004500:Education, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D040381:Education, Public Health Professional / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007391:International Cooperation; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education*; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities