Odisha inks pact for health services

BHUBANESWAR: The health and family welfare department has entered into an agreement with the Health System Transformation Platform (HSTP), a non-profit organisation, to bring transformational changes in the health services in the state.
Officials said the collaboration with HSTP will help strengthen implementation of Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, improve competencies of healthcare providers and improve access to medicines at the primary healthcare centres in the state.
In collaboration, the state will come up with leadership development programmes and long-term investment plans in the health sector. The focus will remain on health systems design, strategy planning, research and proper utilisation of resources, they said.
“Odisha is making rapid advances in providing universal health coverage to its entire population. The collaboration with HSTP will help augment the health and well-being outcomes of the people of the state,” health department secretary Shalini Pandit said.
She said the partnership will create evidence synthesis and develop conceptual models of learning from the best practices and innovations from other states too.
The outcome can lead to scalable and sustainable models for Odisha, the secretary said.