Minjan Patel

Dr. Minjan Patel — Public Health Leader, Researcher & Changemaker
Public Health Leader · Researcher · Systems Architect

Dr.
Minjan Patel

15+ years forging India's community health systems — from village-level implementation to WHO state coordination, World Bank advisory, and peer-reviewed global research.

World Bank Consultant IIPHG Consultant UNICEF Gen-H Challenge Runner-up Founder — AaKAS & HealthPrizm
15+
Years Field Work
25+
Projects Across India
8K+
Wellness Members Served
1.8K
Health Workers Trained
Dr. Minjan Patel
Current Role
Founder Director
Publications
3 Published · 3 in Progress
Reach
6 States · 13K+ Women

"AaKAS is where she leads — not where she began."

WHO World Bank UNICEF Harvard University Boston University IIPHG Gandhinagar PHFI CHETNA Barakat Bundle USA University of Washington IIT Bombay SEWA Darpana Academy MacArthur Foundation UN-Habitat GHRC Abu Dhabi
WHO World Bank UNICEF Harvard University Boston University IIPHG Gandhinagar PHFI CHETNA Barakat Bundle USA University of Washington IIT Bombay SEWA Darpana Academy MacArthur Foundation UN-Habitat GHRC Abu Dhabi
The Full Picture

AaKAS is where
she leads
not where she began.

For institutional partners, funders, and government agencies evaluating Dr. Patel's credentials: her professional track record extends well beyond the organisation she founded. She has delivered measurable results as a Research Associate, Training Department Head, Programme Coordinator, and Occupational Therapist — across India's most respected institutions — building expertise that now anchors every AaKAS programme.

"Her decade at IIPHG, SEWA, WHO, and the World Bank is not a footnote — it is the foundation on which every AaKAS programme is designed and delivered."

Indian Institute of Public Health · Gandhinagar
Research Associate
Aug 2014 – Sep 2016
Managed research projects end-to-end: deliverables to international funders, stakeholder coordination, data collection, report writing, and academic support. Co-authored with global partners.
SEWA · Self Employed Women's Association
Head of Training Department (40 staff)
Aug 2013 – Aug 2014
Led a 40-person training division for one of India's most iconic women's organisations — designing curricula and delivering capacity building at institutional scale.
IIPHG · MATIND Maternal Health Project
Field Supervisor
Mar 2012 – Jul 2012
On-ground supervision of maternal and child health data collection across field sites in Gujarat.
Medico Media & Namaste Life NGO · Ahmedabad
Programme Coordinator & Health Faculty
Jun 2010 – Mar 2012
Coordinated NGO health programmes and delivered healthcare education as faculty — foundational years in community-centred public health practice.
B. M. Institute of Mental Health · Ahmedabad
OT Head — Day Care & Autism Unit
Apr 2010 – May 2011
Led occupational therapy for the day care and autism department — a clinical foundation that now informs her person-centred approach to community health design.
Core Capabilities

Six dimensions
of proven mastery

Dr. Patel's expertise is genuinely multidisciplinary — each domain reinforced by the others. She can research, design, implement, train, evaluate, and communicate with equal rigour. This rare breadth is what makes her a force multiplier for any programme or partnership.

Interact with the cube to explore her capability domains. Drag to rotate, hover to pause.

Research & Evaluation Programme Design Training & ToT Community Mobilisation Telemedicine & Wellness Health Systems Strategy
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Research & Eval
RCTs · Process Assessments · Impact Evaluation · Publication
🌿
Community Health
MCH · Nutrition · Anaemia · Immunisation · Rural Field Work
📋
Programme Mgmt
MIS · Strategy · Stakeholders · Multi-state Implementation
🧑‍🏫
Training & ToT
1,800+ health workers · Module development · Capacity building
📡
Telemedicine
ISHA Wellness model · HealthPrizm · Digital health integration
🤝
Partnerships
WHO · World Bank · Harvard · UNICEF · IIPHG · PHFI

↻ Drag to rotate · Hover to pause

Career Journey

15 years of purposeful practice

2005 – 2010
Karnavati Institute of Medical Sciences
Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
Clinical foundation in person-centred rehabilitation — the lens that would inform all community-based programme design throughout her career.
Clinical TrainingTherapy
Apr 2010 – May 2011
B.M. Institute of Mental Health · Ahmedabad
Head of OT — Day Care & Autism Unit
Led occupational therapy services, developing structured therapeutic programmes and managing clinical caseloads for the day care and autism department.
OT LeadershipMental Health
Jun 2010 – Mar 2012
Medico Media & Namaste Life NGO
Programme Coordinator & Health Faculty
First exposure to NGO programme management — coordinating health initiatives and teaching as faculty. The spark that ignited a lifelong commitment to community public health.
NGO ManagementHealth Education
2012 – 2013
Indian Institute of Public Health · Gandhinagar
PGD Public Health Management + MATIND Supervisor
Earned PGDPHM from India's premier public health institute. Simultaneously supervised the MATIND MCH field project — translating academic learning directly into practice.
PGDPHMMCH ResearchIIPHG
Aug 2013 – Aug 2014
SEWA · Self Employed Women's Association
Head of Training (40-person dept.)
Managed a 40-person training department for one of India's most iconic women's organisations — building curricula and delivering capacity building at institutional scale.
Dept. HeadScale TrainingSEWA
Nov 2013 — Present
Aarogyam Knowledge to Action Society (AaKAS)
Founder Director
Founded AaKAS to institutionalise a multidisciplinary public health approach — integrating research, community health systems, telemedicine (ISHA Wellness), and youth engagement. Co-founded HealthPrizm Pvt. Ltd. in 2022.
FounderInstitution BuildingWHO · UNICEF · World Bank
Aug 2014 – Sep 2016
IIPHG (parallel engagement)
Research Associate
Simultaneous research excellence at IIPHG — managing projects, co-authoring papers, submitting deliverables to international funders, and supporting academic outputs.
ResearchPHFIWHO
2016 — 2025
Multi-Institutional Consultancies
Consultant — WHO · World Bank · UNICEF · Harvard · GHRC
A decade of high-impact consultancy: WHO Midwifery Competency Project (State Coordinator), World Bank SRESTHA-G, UNICEF School Nutrition IEC, Harvard Barakat Bundle evaluation, UN-Habitat Young Gamechanger Initiative, GHRC Abu Dhabi — spanning 6 states.
WHOWorld BankHarvardUNICEF
Selected Work

25+ projects.
Multiple mandates.

The following is a cross-section of Dr. Patel's project portfolio — spanning research, implementation, evaluation, and wellness — executed across government, international, and civil society partnerships. These are not AaKAS projects alone.

Community health programme
Barakat Bundle USA · Harvard University
Maternal & Child Health — Life-Saving Bundles
Village-level programme across MP & Gujarat delivering evidence-based bundles to mothers. Impact evaluation co-designed with Harvard University.
2016 – 2022
Programme assessment
UNICEF · PHFI — 3 States
Process Assessment of PMMVY — Bihar, Gujarat & Assam
Multi-state process evaluation of India's flagship maternity benefit scheme delivering state-level evidence and recommendations to UNICEF and PHFI.
May – Oct 2022
Research work
WHO · State Project Coordination
WHO Midwifery Competency Assessment — State Coordinator
State-level rollout of WHO's midwifery competency project. Co-author of the resulting PLOS Global Public Health paper published October 2024.
Sep 2019 – Oct 2020
Field research
World Bank — SRESTHA-G Project
Health, Nutrition & Population — Research Consultant
Engaged as consultant to the World Bank's SRESTHA-G initiative across Gujarat. Contributed research, strategy evidence, and implementation documentation. Research paper under process.
Feb 2022 – Jun 2024
Wellness programme
AaKAS · HealthPrizm
Technology-Based ISHA Wellness Model
Designed and deployed a technology-driven community wellness model serving 8,000+ members in urban and rural Gujarat and MP. Research paper under process.
2018 – Present
Community training
WHO · UN-Habitat · Jatni, Odisha
Young Gamechanger Initiative Model
Implementing a youth-led health initiative in Jatni, Odisha with WHO and UN-Habitat — training the next generation of community health champions.
Mar – Oct 2025
Evaluation work
IIPHG · WHO — Gujarat & MP
Evaluation of PMJAY Health Insurance Scheme
Evaluated Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana implementation in two states, providing evidence-based recommendations to WHO and IIPHG.
Jun – Aug 2019
Research
Multi-Institutional RCT
RCT — Improving Antenatal Care Uptake in Rural India
Ongoing randomised controlled trial testing an evidence-based bundle intervention to improve ANC regimen uptake in rural India. Results under preparation for publication.
Oct 2023 – Present
Village field work
CHETNA · IIPHG — Ratlam & Ujjain
Improving Anaemia Status in Women — MP
Field implementation of an anaemia reduction programme for women of reproductive age across two high-burden districts of Madhya Pradesh.
Apr 2021 – Feb 2022
Institutional Network

Trusted by those who
set the standards.

World Health Organization
UN Agency · Midwifery · PMJAY
World Bank
SRESTHA-G · Health SAR
UNICEF India
PMMVY · School Nutrition IEC
Harvard University
Barakat Bundle Impact Eval
Boston University
ARCH Community Health
IIPHG Gandhinagar
Research Associate · PHFI Projects
UN-Habitat
Young Gamechanger · Odisha
SEWA · MacArthur Fdn
Training Leadership · Youth Mandals
Peer-Reviewed Output

Research
publications

Published in international peer-reviewed journals. Three further papers in progress — including work with the World Bank and the ISHA Wellness project.

01
Journal of Applied Arts & Health
Evaluation of arts-based interventions to improve awareness of hygiene and sanitation issues in slums of Ahmedabad, India
Trivedi M., Patel M. · Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 25–35(11)
2016
02
International Journal of Health Governance
Evaluation of community-based participatory governance interventions to improve access to health-related public entitlements in India
Trivedi M., Patel M., Nair H. D., Sharma B. · DOI: 10.1108/IJHG-03-2022-0030
2022
03
PLOS Global Public Health
Developing and validating a self-assessment tool for nurse-midwives against ICM competency domains, India
Sharma B., Bogren M., Ponnusamy P., Rastogi V., Patel M., et al. · DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0003766
Oct 2024
⚗️
3 Research Papers Currently In Progress A paper with the World Bank (SRESTHA-G project) and two papers emerging from the ISHA Wellness technology model — adding to a growing evidence base authored by Dr. Patel across community health, governance, and wellness systems.
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PGDPHM — IIPHG Gandhinagar
📚
M.Sc. Rural Development — IGNOU
🏥
Healthcare Organisation — Certified
🧠
Sensory Integration Therapy
✍️
Scientific Writing — IIPHG
🤱
Certified ANC Trainer
🧘
Certified Yoga Trainer
🌐
WHO-TDR Implementation Research
📝
Grant Writing — IIPHG Workshop
📖
B.A. English Literature
Competency Profile

Depth built
across every
dimension

Each credential was earned in the field, not merely on paper. From clinical therapy to health systems strategy, from module development to WHO state-level coordination.

Programme Management15 yrs
Research & Evaluation13 yrs
Training & Capacity Building14 yrs
Community Health Implementation13 yrs
Telemedicine & Wellness Models7 yrs
Report & Grant Writing12 yrs
Collaborate · Partner · Commission

Ready to solve
India's hardest
health problems?

With 15 years of field implementation, research credentials, and an active network spanning WHO, World Bank, and Harvard — Dr. Minjan Patel brings both the evidence base and the ground-level execution capacity your programme needs.

Location
MP & Gujarat, India
Languages
English · Hindi · Gujarati
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