Mumbai Campus,
Chairperson, Centre for Health and Mental Health, School of Social Work - Mumbai Campus
M.A. (TISS)
brinelledsouza[at]tiss[dot]ac[dot]in
Centre for Health and Mental Health, School of Social Work (Rm. 205, Second Floor),
School of Social Work
Tata Instittue of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai 400088
Email id: brinelledsouza@tiss.ac.in
Office: 02225525462
Brinelle D’souza is currently Chairperson, Centre for Health and Mental Health, School of Social Work. Her areas of expertise are public health, health rights, marginalization and health and health activism. She teaches, Health Policy, Comparative Study of Health Systems, Community Health (co-teaching), Social Action and Advocacy in the field of Health, Health and Development ( co-teaches), Human Rights and modules on Religion and Secularism at TISS. In 2007, she was awarded the CAPS-Fogarty Scholarship by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Berkley for a Visiting Scientist’s Programme in AIDS Prevention Research at the Centre of AIDS Prevention Studies, UCSF. As part of the programme she did a 10 week programme in Clinical Research Methods from Department of Biostatistics and Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, USA. In 2006, she attended, the Summer Instittue on Sexuality, Culture and Society at the University of Amsterdam (UvA Summer School).
Brinelle has directed projects at the state and national level in collaboration with UNAIDS, UNDP, USAID, the National AIDS Control Organization, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Global Fund to Fight Against AIDS, TB and Malaria, Geneva. In 2007, she led a five member team of university faculty to develop the GFTAM, Round 7, HIV/AIDS Counselling Programme in close partnership with the National AIDS Control Organization. This was first time in the history of the GFATM, that a University System (40 universities across the country) went on to jointly implement a grant and support a national health programme. It was also the first time that a University (TISS) became the Principle Recipient. Saksham as the GFATM Round 7 component went on to be called became a model of public-public partnership.
Brinelle D’Souza has been a temporary advisor to the World Health Organization,Geneva for a consultation on Gender-Based Violence and HIV/AIDS and was supported by the Global Fund to participate in a counsultation at the World Bank, Washington DC on health systems strengthening in 2010. She chaired the Counselling Working Group for National AIDS Control Programme III. At TISS, she has coordinated student fieldwork and research for many years at the CHMH and is part of the working group to develop the BSW curriculum. She is now part of the MA Social Work working group for reimagining the Master's Programme in the context of the NEP. She has presented papers at national and international conferences/ webinars on access to health care, COVID-19 pandemic, gender, secularism, religion and the state, minority rights, etc and has contributed to and overseen the development of many training manuals.
Brinelle D'souza is actively engaged in the issue of health rights, especially in relation to access to health care. As co-convenor, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan – Mumbai, the local chapter of the global People’s Health Movement, she spear headed advocacy efforts on behalf of JSA-Mumbai for private sector regulation, vaccine equity, price control of critical medicines during the COVID pandemic and the issuance of compulsory licensing in the case of two critical but cost prohibitive drugs - bedaquiline and delamanid used in the treatment of MDR TB. She and a team of activists formed a network called Mumbai Responds to respond to the various challenges faced by the urban poor because of loss ofincomes and livelihoods and the crisis emanating from the lockdown and social restrictions. The network reached out to more than 30,000 urban poor families and migrants with food supplies and was involved with many advocacy issues. She is a member of the National Working Group on Access to Treatment and Intellectual Property, a member of the State Mentoring Committee, Community Action for Health under the State Health Mission, Government of Maharashtra and a member of the National Coordinating Committee, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, India and a member of the core group of National Solidarity Forum - a national network that works on communal harmony, peace and reconciliation.
Brinelle D'souza is currently involved in building the capacity of faith based organizations of West India in advocacy related to the Sustainable Development Goals. She is also very action on the issue of gender rights in religious spaces and has been working on the issue of sexual abuse in the church through a national network she co- founded called Voices Against Sexual Abuse in the Church (VASAC). On March 2020, Brinelle was felicitated by the Women's Commission, Archdiocese of Mumbai, for her contribution to society.
- Social determinants of health
- Health Movements and Health Rights
- Religious minorities, health and wellbeing
- Access to treatment
to be done
- Building Capacities of Faith Based Organizations in West India in Human Rights Advocacy in Relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (2020-2025). Funded by Justice Coalition of Religious, New York
- Co-facilitated, The Struggle for Health (IPOL: 28 June – 13 October, 2013), an online training programme for young health activists from South Asia offered by the People’s Health Movement on Health and Human Rights.
- January 2008 – October 2012, National Programme Director of Saksham, the GFATM R-7 Counselling Component of which the Tata Institute of Social Sciences was the Principal Recepient. Saksham aimed at strengthening the human and institutional capacities of the national health system to enable accelerated growth of the National AIDS Control Programme. It was a unique partnership of 38 academic institutions of higher learning spread across 25 states of India. It was the first time in the history of the Global Fund that a university (TISS) has been nominated as the principal recipient and a university system is implementing a grant.
- Provided strategic leadership and vision to the programme which enabled Saksham to emerge as a good model of public – public partnership (between the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India)
- Created effective systems for management and administration of a $ 18.2 million grant that was implemented in 25 states of the country between 2008 -2013.
- Facilitated the development of TOT counselling manuals on various theme
- Facilitated the development of a comprehensive quality assurance system for counselling training in the country
- Led the development and implemented a Counseling Supervision System for HIV/AIDS counselors, pan India - the first of its kind in size and reach. Used GIS for strategic planning – oversaw the development of monitoring and evaluation tools for counselling supervision
- Facilitated and closely monitored the development of various research tools to measure programme effectiveness such as : Survey to Assess Training Capacity of the Training Institutes (SATC), Global Assessment of Master Trainers (GMaT), Assessment of Counsellors’ s skills and Expertise (ACE), A scale for assessment of Job Satisfaction of Counsellors (Job Sat), Ethics Screening, Client satisfaction Scale (CSS)
- Shaped the scope of the Saksham program through forging close partnerships with NACO, SACS, positive people’s groups, civil society and multilateral organizations such as UNODC, UNAIDs, etc.
- Project Director, Cell for AIDS Research Action and Training, Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Led and directed the following projects from 2000 - 2010
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July - December 2009: Coordinated the National HIV Social Science Research Initiative in partnership with Action Aid, India and coordinated the National Consultation on HIV Social Research Priorities in India jointly organized by TISS and Action Aid , Mumbai, India
- January 11-12, 2008: An international seminar on , Marginalized Communities, Global Civil Society and HIV/AIDS: Needs, Policies and Access in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Global Governance, London School of Economics and Political Science at TISS, Mumbai
- 2005 - 2007 for UNDP: Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS in Development Work in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Orissa and Rajasthan – Project included formative research, capacity building of development NGOs in HIV work, development of a training manual on how to mainstream HIV/AIDS in development work and monitor and evaluate HIV/AIDS Mainstreaming Action Plans.
- 2004-2006 for AVERT Society, USAID and Government of Maharashtra: Capacity Building of Targeted Intervention NGOs of Maharashtra mainly organizations were working with men who have sex with men, migrant workers, female sex workers and injecting drug users and an evaluation 6 months later
- 2001-2006: International Training Institute on Psychosocial Interventions and HIV/AIDS Counselling: The institute was a 10 week certificate programme on HIV/AIDS Counselling and comprised of 7 modules – (1) Epidemiology and clinical information on HIV/AIDS (2), HIV and development, (3) gender and sexuality (4) designing and implementing intervention programmes (5) monitoring and evaluation of programmes (6) Therapeutic Interventions (7) training pedagogies. Around 120 mid-level functionaries from HIV/AIDS and sexual health organizations from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sudan, Rwanda, Australia, China were trained over the 5 year period. They all went on to hold senior positions and leadership in various organizations.
- 2003 - An 8 week capacity building programme for doctors and nurses from Pakistan on the Psychosocial aspects of HIV/AIDS and how to set up, monitor and evaluate voluntary counselling and testing services. Funded by UNAIDS, Pakistan.2003: Capacity building of Counsellors of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh on setting up, monitoring and evaluation counselling and testing services. Supported by UNAIDS, Bangladesh
- 1997- 2001: Continuum of Care Programme in Mumbai and Sangli, in collaboration with Directorate of Health Services, Government of Maharashtra. Led the development of the monitoring and evaluation framework in collaboration with various stakeholders
Research Projects
- January – March 2010: Evalution of Continuum of Care Interventions in Mumbai (Funded by NACO)
- Co- Principal investigator: Counsellor’s Perspectives on Factors Influencing HIV counselling Services in India 2009 – 2010. Funded by Saksham,
- 2007: Evaluation of the Rural HIV/AIDS Intervention Programme of SANGRAM, Sangli. Funded by SANGRAM
- 2007 - Evaluation of the HIV/AIDS Care Programme of Committed Communities Development Trust, MUmbai (with Prof. Vimla Nadkarni)
- 2005-2006: Principal investigator: A Study to Understand the Role of Counselors Working in Targeted interventions. Funded by the Avert Society/USAID in Maharashtra
- 2005: Monitoring UNGASS processes on Sexual and Reproductive Health in India. Funded by Action Plus, a network of Ford Foundation Grantees
- 2003- 2005: Understanding Safer Sex Negotiations among HIV Sero Discordant Married Couples in Mumbai, India. Funded by Centre for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California ,San Francisco
- 2001: Evaluation of the Women and HIV/AIDS Project of World Vision India, Mumbai. Funded by World Vision, Mumbai
Courses currently teaching
Bachelor's in Social Work
- Human Rights
Master's level
- Comparative Study of Health Systems
- Community Health Processes and Practice (co teach)
- Health Policy, Programmes and Legislation
- Health and Development (co-teach)
- Social Action and Advocacy in the field of Health
Foundation Course - co-teach modules on
- Indian Health Care System and Inequality in Access
- Religion and Secularism
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