In a talk on Friday, September 10, international journalists shared their perspectives on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan during . Watch the video from the event, “Implications: Regional Perspectives on the US Withdrawal from Afghanistan,” which was sponsored by the Asia Center and co-sponsored by the Mittal Institute.
Akshay Mangla, Mittal Institute Research Associate and Associate Professor in International Business at the University of Oxford, recently authored the new publication, “Social conflict on the front lines of reform: Institutional activism and girls’ education in rural India,” in Public Administration and Development. The study analyzes how institutional activists (frontline workers) within the Indian state negotiate social conflicts as they seek to integrate disadvantaged girls into the school system by mobilizing village women’s groups and encouraging deliberation with target households. The Mittal Institute sat down with Akshay to explore his recent work, and expertise in the comparative political economy of developing countries.
On behalf of the team at the Mittal Institute, our hearts are with the people of Afghanistan, who are reeling in the wake of new unrest. Over the past few decades, the people of Afghanistan have experienced large-scale and ongoing violence and conflict, with recent events only adding to this turmoil and resulting suffering. Our thoughts are with the Afghan people as they look to chart a new path forward – with the necessary support from their partners in the international community – to address their needs, and ensure that the rights and safety of the most vulnerable in their midst are upheld and respected. During this crisis, the Mittal Institute would like to bring attention to how our community can stay informed on what’s developing in Afghanistan, and ways that they can help.
In the below article, which appeared in BMJ Global Health, authors Nivedita Saksena (Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights and the inaugural IDHN Fellow at the Mittal Institute), Rahul Matthan (Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru, India), Anant Bhan (Centre for Ethics, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, Karnataka, India), and Satchit Balsari (Department of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School / Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Mittal Institute Steering Committee member) explore India’s National Digital Health Mission’s goal of creating a system of electronic health records that capture data, with the patient’s consent.
The Lancet Citizens’ Commission on Reimagining India’s Health System jointly hosted a webinar with Dvara Research and HBS Health Care Initiative on the role of commercial health insurance in providing better health outcomes and improved financial protection in India. Here, our panelists explore the question of demand for insurance, the lessons for countries such as India from global experiences on commercial insurance, and how the models can be adapted to suit low-income consumers and more.
The third monthly webinar by the Lancet Citizens’ Commission featured eminent personalities from Governments in Mexico & Thailand, leaders from global non-profits & research institutions. The panel explored cross-national variations in levels of public health investment and political prioritisation of health system improvements. With insights from those involved in the reforms or who have studied the motivations for reforms, this panel brought together global comparative insights into when, why, and what consequences political leaders have invested more in health.
Bennett Comerford, a second year Graduate Student Associate with the Mittal Institute, is a doctoral candidate in the Committee on the Study of Religion at Harvard University. His work focuses on the intersections of religion, literature, race and coloniality in nineteenth-century Bengal. He is a past recipient of language and research fellowships in Bangladesh and India. The Mittal Institute sat down to learn more about Bennett and his research.
Each year, the Mittal Institute’s Seed for Change competition encourages Harvard students to develop a vibrant ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India and Pakistan. Grant prizes are awarded to interdisciplinary student projects that positively impact societal, economic, and environmental issues in India and Pakistan. One Winter 2020 recipient was “Sahayak,” the brainchild of Ambika Malhortra ’20, Aeshna Prasad ’21, Harvard Graduate School of Design alumnae who both earned a Master of Architecture in Urban Design.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools globally have wrestled with the challenges of delivering hands-on learning projects. Enter the Soft Robotic Toolkit, part of the Mittal Institute’s Multidisciplinary Approach to Innovative Social Enterprises, supported by Tata Trusts. This program, as detailed in a MI November interview, uses active, hands-on pedagogy to provide cutting edge, high-quality STEM learning. The project provides students with kits, each of which contain the parts and instructions to create a soft robot, teaching students everything from the creation of silicone materials to the assembly of pieces.