MRHRU - Bhunga Punjab

The Model Rural Health Research Unit Bhunga is an initiative of the Department of Health Research established under the mentorship of ICMR–NICHR (Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Child Health Research), New Delhi, formerly known as the ICMR–National Institute of Pathology, which offers scientific oversight and research guidance. Located within the Community Health Centre at Bhunga in Hoshiarpur district, it serves as a rural research extension designed to strengthen evidence-based public health practice in underserved regions of Punjab. The purpose of the unit is to generate community-anchored research that can guide district, state, and national health policies.

The unit is supported by several institutional partners. At the state level, the Nodal Agency for MRHRU is the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Punjab. The State Medical College associated with the MRHRU is Government Medical College, Amritsar, which provides medical, technical, and academic linkage. The Department of Health Research (DHR) remains the overall supervising authority.

MRHRU Bhunga conducts operational research, disease surveillance, community-based interventions, and translational studies on priority health problems of the community. Its work spans vector-borne diseases, nutrition, maternal and child health, viral hepatitis, malaria, scrub typhus, noncommunicable diseases, and the evaluation of national health programmes. The unit works closely with the state health system and rural communities, functioning as a testing ground for pilot models that can be scaled across Punjab.

The establishment of the unit followed a series of major administrative and infrastructure milestones. Two thousand square metres of land at CHC Bhunga were formally transferred to DHR by the Government of Punjab for the development of the MRHRU. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed on 14 March 2014 between the Director of Health Services, Punjab, and ICMR–NICHR (then ICMR–NIP), confirming operational responsibilities and collaboration. The MRHRU building was constructed by the Punjab Health Systems Corporation with funding from DHR and was officially handed over on 27 April 2017. The foundation stone had earlier been laid by the then Punjab Health Minister, Sh. Surjit Kumar Jyani, on 5 March 2015. The functioning of the unit is periodically reviewed through the Local Research Advisory Committee, which has convened ten meetings to date.

This integrated ecosystem of state health authorities, academic institutions, and national research bodies allows MRHRU Bhunga to operate as a strong, community-linked platform for rural public health research and innovation.