Recognizing the critical need to enhance Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services, the National Health Mission (NHM) and the Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) Department, Government of Odisha, have been at the forefront of implementing impactful interventions. 

In advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) for its citizens, the NHM, Odisha, in collaboration with the Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI), is currently piloting a community-led cervical cancer screening program in select urban slums of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. This pilot aims to bridge the critical gaps in access to healthcare for underserved populations, particularly women aged of 30-65 years by providing them with a home based, self-sample HPV – DNA testing kits for early detection and thereby enabling timely treatment e of cervical cancer.

In order to witness and get a first-hand experience of transformative impact of NIPI’s collaboration with H&FW Dept and NHM, a high level team led by Her Excellency, Ms. May-Elin Stener, Ambassador of Norway to India along with Ms Undis Vatvedt Singh, Senior Advisor, Political Team, Royal Norwegian Embassy and others visited Odisha on 17th Sept 2024. The visit was hosted by the National Health Mission, H& FW Department, Government of Odisha.

Her Excellency and the team after a quick detour around the Urban Primary Health Care Centre to understand various service provisions being provided Her Excellency expressed her admiration for the level of care provided at the UPHC, especially the availability of specialist services for underserved populations.

Subsequently, Her Excellency and the team were accompanied to the meeting venue to deliberate on the ongoing cervical cancer pilot conducted at Bhubaneswar Slums. It was informed that following the success of the Cuttack pilot, in the second leg, the cervical cancer screening program is now being expanded to the urban slums of Bhubaneswar.

Subsequently, Her Excellency formally inaugurated the “Orientation Program on Community Mobilization for Cervical Cancer Screening at Urban Slums of Bhubaneswar under IRC Village UPHC”.

The highlight of the event was the felicitation of community champions from the cervical cancer-screening pilot in Cuttack. These dedicated individuals, including Urban ASHAs and other frontline health workers played a pivotal role in mobilizing women from underserved urban communities to participate in the cervical cancer screening initiative. They were instrumental in raising awareness about cervical cancer, mobilizing women for screenings, and ensuring that HPV-positive patients received timely treatment. As a token of appreciation, Her Excellency felicitated two Urban ASHAs and two beneficiaries who were identified as HPV positive patients initially and later have been successfully treated. 

Participating in the discussion Mr Mrinal Kanti Das, AMD and NHM thanked Her Excellency for taking time out of her busy schedule to oversee the cervical cancer-screening pilot. He highlighted NIPI’s remarkable contribution in setting up the “Innovation Hub” within NHM, which has now become a model for other States. He also mentioned NIPI’s contribution in other areas such as implementation of FPC-KMC in hard to reach areas, research and documentation, HBYC, HBNC and other innovative interventions. He stressed upon the fact that, NIPI’s collaboration with the Government of Odisha extends beyond traditional health services to include digital innovations that are transforming SRH care. The implementation of QR code-enabled Mother and Child Protection (MCP) cards in all 30 districts has improved tracking and management of maternal and child health data. Additionally, the e-Decision Support System (e-DSS) for Community Health Officers (CHOs) is enabling more efficient and effective delivery of health services. 

Later in the day, Her Excellency joined in a Community Interaction Program at the Urban Slums (Gandhi Basti and Ganapti Basti) under the jurisdiction of IRC Village UPHC to explore the community mobilisation process and beneficiary insights. Her Excellency along with the visiting team, Urban Health Team, NIPI and PRI representatives interacted with the Mahila Aarogya Samiti (MAS) members of Jagannth MAS, Tarini MAS and Maa Mallika MAS. HE Ambassador and senior officials engaged in discussions with health workers and community members to understand the ground-level community mobilisation process and its critical role in Cervical Cancer Screening intervention. During the interactions, MAS members explained the process they adopt while doing screening for NCD programs. MAS members shared insights into how they conduct health profiling of households, track families, and ensure follow-up care. The visiting team acknowledged that dedicated Frontline workers and MAS members have been instrumental in implementing home-based cervical cancer screenings, an initiative that is providing vital early detection services to women who otherwise lack access to such care.

The visit concluded with a sense of optimism and renewed commitment to strengthening the partnership between NIPI and the Government of Odisha. The Health & Family Welfare Department expressed its gratitude to the Royal Norwegian Embassy for their continued support and emphasized the importance of community-driven approaches in achieving better health outcomes.