Director General’s message

Dear all internal and international colleagues, and friends

May I extend a very warm greeting to all of you. Realizing, that the human skills decided the efficiency and efficacy of all kind of works as well as of the socio-economic development in the country and reaffirming, that the lack of skills of health personnel in research & training to be tackle with the effective of health Management,

therefore, the National Institute of Public Health (NIOPH) was established in 1999 by the Prime Minister Decree No. 20/PMO as a national focal point for the research and training activities in Lao P.D.R by merging the research activities of the Council of Medical Sciences (CMS) with the training activities of the School of Public Health (SPH).

The Ministry of Health wants NIOPH to assume a major role among many different players and expects that NIOPH becomes over time a “think tank” for the health sector. It has a direct responsibility for the fifth main work plan of the Ministry of Health in terms of health research and training management; so far acted as an office of the Council of Medical Sciences of Ministry of Health and acted as an office of National Ethics Committee for Health Research.

The NIOPH has its own goals, vision, and mission as follows:

Goals:
The health system in Lao PDR is responsive to the health needs of the population in the field of training, research, information systems and ethics.

Vision:
The National Institute of Public Health in Lao PDR is thriving toward a viable and sustainable centre of excellence in public health training and research in terms of health benefits of Lao population in western pacific region.

Mission :

Training and retraining of health staff in health research methodology, medical pedagogy, health administration, MIS, and leadership development, thus to strengthen health management capacity

Developing and implementing each five year national health research master plan on evaluation research based

Coordinating, collaborating and conducting health research within and between countries, to strengthen both internal and international research capacity and networks.

The NIOPH has six departments (click here for more detail)

So far NIOPH is in the process of implementing the last phase of the third five year national health research master plan (2002-2006) and preparing to develop the fourth five year national health research master plan (2007-2011) based on the national workshop results supported by MOH, COHRED and CWW with a strong focus towards the strengthening of national health research system in Lao PDR.
Since the year 2003 after signing MOU between NIOPH and JICA, the NIOPH in close collaborationship with Lao JICA office had organized the training course on health management for health managers at different level, in line with the training of trainer course on health management for health staff to become trainers in their own institutions

As health management training course is providing knowledge and skills for health managers at different level of health system, whose work related to gradually improving of health care services to the population nationwide.

Wishing all of you good health and many successes both in your private and social life!.

Prof. Dr. Boungnong BOUPHA MD. PhD
Director General of National Institute of Public Health
President of the Francophony Tropical Medicine Institute in Lao PDR