Improving maternal and child health has always remained at the forefront of the Health & Family Welfare Department's priorities in Odisha. Over the years, significant efforts and investment have been made to reduce child mortality. Despite significant progress, reducing the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) at an accelerated pace continues to pose a critical challenge.

Towards improving quality of care in newborn facilities, MoHFW has launched a program MusQan, a national initiative, is designed to ensure the provision of quality, child-friendly services in public health facilities, aiming to reduce preventable newborn and child morbidity and mortality. MusQan encompasses all vital aspects of a child's growth, including physical, mental, and social development. The initiative adopts a multi-pronged strategy to address gaps in Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs), Newborn Stabilization Units (NBSUs), postnatal wards, Pediatric Outpatient Departments (OPDs), and Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs), aiming to improve childcare services across India.

NIPI's Role as a Technical Partner

The Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) has been a leading technical partner to the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Odisha, contributing to the state's efforts to enhance maternal and child health outcomes. As part of the State-level mentoring team under the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Pediatrics at SVPPGIP, Cuttack, NIPI has been instrumental in supporting various child health care units such as NBCCs, NBSUs, SNCUs (with a focus on Kangaroo Mother Care and Maternal Newborn Care Units), Pediatric OPDs, pediatric wards, NRCs, District Early Intervention Centres (DEICs), and Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) units.

Handholding Support for MusQan Certification

Under the MusQan initiative, NIPI provides support in mentoring selected health facilities for certification. NIPI members, along with the state mentoring team, conducted visits to various institutions, offering handholding and mentoring support based on the defined MusQan checklists. This meticulous process ensures that facilities meet the quality standards necessary for certification.

NIPI team members alongside other technical experts conducted multiple facility readiness assessments using approved MusQan checklists. Visited SNCU, LR, OT, DEIC, Pediatric ward, OPD and NRC in the visited health facilities. The team Interacted with all service providers, assessed their skill & knowledge, identified the key gaps and provided appropriate mentoring support to strengthen it further. The team identified key infrastructural gap with respect to mandated service provision and suggested appropriate arrangements with reference to the MusQan checklist.

Through several rounds of consultation with district authorities, a time-bound action plan was developed, addressing gaps in infrastructure, equipment, human resources, consumables, and more. The collaborative efforts between state and district authorities were pivotal in closing identified gaps. 

NIPI's technical expertise and mentoring support were crucial in guiding the process. A comprehensive action plan, complete with timelines, was developed in consultation with key district officials. This plan was shared with the Chief District Medical & Public Health Officer (CDM&PHO) and the Medical Superintendent of the concerned facility for regular review and monitoring of progress.