India committed to share best practices under Norway India Partnership Initiative: Health Secy

New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) India is committed to sharing best practices under Norway India Partnership Initiative, said Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava on Friday.

Srivastava said this while chairing the annual meeting of the Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI). The meeting aimed to review and approve the NIPI Progress Report 2025, and the budgeted work plans for 2025-26 under Phase IV of the initiative.

“NIPI displays how the convergence of efforts can yield results. Government of India is also involved in convergence with states and UTs, through a whole-of-government approach for achieving desired outcomes,” Srivastava said.

Noting that India displays a good testing ground for bringing innovation, the Union Health Secretary underlined India’s commitment to share the best practices under the initiative for replication in other settings.

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

May-Elin Stener, Ambassador of Norway to India, highlighted that next year will mark 20 years of this partnership. She stated that there have been innovative and catalytic interventions through this partnership, which have helped in bringing significant results.

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

“India has a very definitive goal of being a developed country, and this is visible in the work being done at the ground level. 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,” she added.

The NIPI is based on an agreement between the governments of Norway and India to collaborate towards achieving India’s National Health Policy and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

NIPI’s vision is to provide strategic, catalytic, and innovative support to India’s National Health Mission (NHM) in Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir.

--IANS

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