The Christian Healthcare movement in India has always strived for the medical needs of resource poor people, the voiceless and those located in the remote areas of India. It has also been the torch bearer for pioneering work in public health, health education, nursing care and medical education and in areas related to communicable diseases.  With the advent of globalsation and the profit motive which has insidiously influenced the health care industry in India. The members felt that the Christian healthcare movement has by and large shied away from engaging with policy makers. This has had a damaging effect on the healthcare provisions for the marginalized and the people situated in remote areas. Policies and decisions being made have often catered to the urban middle class and the rich, because of which the people in rural India and the resource poor people of this country are being excluded from the ambit of policy in this country. In light of this, there was much concern that the movement needed to stand up and influence policy makers as the above facts have led to the very existence of our hospitals and clinics all over the country being threatened with extinction.

 

 

In contrast, what is visible today is that the Christian healthcare organizations, have been working in their own silos, often struggling with the same issues and having had to find solutions by “reinventing the wheel”. Leaders now felt that by sharing their triumphs and their challenges they could find solutions to provide “Health for All”. Out of these deliberations in March 2012 it was felt that a network of networks needed to be set up for the specific purpose of building a “…mechanism for better coordination and synergy between networks and the need for greater engagement in Research and Advocacy on Health Policies Towards Health For All.”