The Review Meeting of the Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) in Odisha was held on May 8, 2025, at the Mini Conference Hall of National Health Mission (NHM), Odisha. The meeting brought together senior officials from the Health & Family Welfare Department, National Health Mission (NHM), and NIPI to reflect on the past year’s progress and to chart future priorities in reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) in line with National Health Mission.
Chaired by the Additional Director (Admin), NHM, the review assessed progress under the approved NIPI Phase IV Work Plan, with a special focus on innovation, replication, and collaboration. Dr. Ashfaq Ahmed Bhat, Program Director, NIPI, presented updates across key activities and shared preliminary insights from the ongoing evaluation of the Swasthya Sahay scheme.

Key achievements highlighted included:
•    Support to IPHS Assessments: Over 99% of public health facilities nationwide have been assessed using the NIPI-supported tool. Odisha stands to benefit from this extensive dataset for facility-level improvements.
•    Innovation Hub Impact: Initiatives like cervical cancer screening, Family Participatory Care (FPC), and Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) have scaled with NIPI’s technical handholding and are now inspiring models for other states.
•    Field Visit Monitoring Tool (FVMT): Developed on NHM's request, this digital tool has logged over 1,000 visits, enhancing accountability in supervision. NHM is exploring its integration with Annual Performance Reports.
•    Pre-Pregnancy Care (PPC): A simplified, low-resource PPC model targeting intending mothers was proposed by NIPI and accepted for piloting in two non-aspirational blocks.
•    Digital Innovations: Tools like DHIS, ODK, and a new DEIC performance tracker under RBSK were recognized for advancing data-driven decision-making.
•    Knowledge & Evidence Generation: NIPI shared manuscripts on cervical cancer and the first draft of the Swasthya Sahay evaluation report, which includes field data, SWOT analysis, and stakeholder feedback.
Additionally, NIPI presented an integrated newborn and young child care model (0–3 years) leveraging risk stratification and decision-support systems to enhance continuity of care. The proposed model was well appreciated and it was agreed to pilot test this proposed solution in the state of Odisha.
The meeting concluded with a shared resolve to continue this strong collaboration. NHM officials appreciated NIPI’s role in delivering timely technical assistance and promoting scalable, evidence-backed innovations to strengthen Odisha’s health system.