India good testing ground for bringing innovation: Health secretary

New Delhi, Oct 31 (PTI) The Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) has shown how convergence of efforts can yield results, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said on Friday.

Srivastava chaired the annual meeting of the NIPI held here and highlighted the whole-of-government approach for achieving the desired outcomes.

Noting that India displays a good testing ground for bringing innovation, she underlined the country's commitment to share the best practices under the initiative for replication in other settings.

May-Elin Stener, Ambassador of Norway to India who co-chaired the meeting, highlighted that next year will mark 20 years of this partnership.

The meeting aimed to review and approve the "NIPI Progress Report 2025" and the budgeted work plans for 2025-26 under the fourth phase of the initiative.

Srivastava also highlighted the significance of the IPHS-ODK (Indian Public Health Standards-Open Data Kit) tool developed under the initiative that facilitates assessments and helps states quickly identify gaps and receive targeted support to achieve the required standards.

She concluded her address by reaffirming the health ministry's appreciation for the partnership and its commitment to continuing the collaboration.

Stener noted that the Indian government has invested 26 times the amount Norway has spent under the initiative, highlighting the importance being given to the collaboration.

"India's goal of being a developed country is visible in the work being done at the ground level," she said, adding that commitment to health services is very important for the development of Indian health services.

"There have been significant developments in the health sector in India since this partnership started in 2006," Stener said.

The NIPI is based on an agreement between the governments of Norway and India to collaborate towards achieving the latter's National Health Policy and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a statement issued by the health ministry.

The NIPI's vision is to provide strategic, catalytic and innovative support to the National Health Mission (NHM) in the states of Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the statement said.

The partnership has successfully completed three phases and is currently in its fourth phase, providing crucial technical support to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and NHMs of partner states, it stated.

So far, the initiative has served as a platform for evidence-based health systems strengthening, the statement added.

Key deliverables of the initiative, such as the IPHS-ODK tool, the establishment of an innovation hub within the NHM, the development of a Decision Support System (DSS) algorithm for the extended provision of services under Ayushman Arogya Mandir (AAM), the creation of a pre-pregnancy care model, a "self-care" cervical cancer screening model and the formulation of the Integrated Home-Based Care for Newborns and Children (HBNCC) guidelines“ along with their outcomes, were discussed through a presentation.

The partnership is governed by an annual meeting or a Joint Steering Committee meeting between the governments of India and Norway and the implementing agency. PTI PLB SHS RC