Bhubaneswar: In a bid to give the state’s infant health-care status a facelift, state health and family welfare department today entered into an agreement with United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). This is a part of the Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI) and aims at strengthening services provided under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) for improving women and child health care in the state.

This memorandum of agreement (MoA) will be in force till 31 March, 2012.

Norway and India have agreed to collaborate towards achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 4 based on commitments of the two countries. The aim of the partnership is to facilitate rapid scale-up of quality child related health services that are equitable and sustainable in five high focus states of India including Orissa. .

The initiative is expected to take a number of steps to scale up quality of services rendered by ASHA workers at village levels by strengthening their support needs and referral requirements.

Its special emphasis on child health planning and its implementation will be Block, District and region specific. The fresh initiative would emphasise on training health workers in home based newborns and child care, as increase of institutional delivery has been an important component of NRHM. Similarly skill enhancement of the nurses to support and manage the entire range of child health programmes will also be a part of this initiative.

This support will see provision of flexible funds both at district and block levels for child health process to speed up decision making.

The financial and administrative system too would be mobilised for improvement and increase private sector involvement in attainment of these goals will be high on agenda.