TSU 2nd Phase launch by Hon’ble Health Minister, Govt of Bihar

• Govt of Bihar and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has signed a memorandum of Cooperation to set up a Technical Support Unit.
• Technical support Unit will support GoB to achieve its health and Nutrition Outcome
• In all 38 districts, District Resource Unit (DRUs) have been set up and State Resource Unit (SRU) has been set up at the state level to provide catalytic support to GoB

Patna, 19 September 2017: After working over the years, Govt. of Bihar(GoB) has been successful in getting good results in Health and Nutrition sector in the state. The initiatives of GoB brought about positive results in the reduction of IMR and MMR status in the state. Augmenting the sustained efforts of the State Government, to achieve key Health and Nutrition outcomes, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between Govt. of Bihar and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in 2010. In accordance with it, a Technical Support Unit (TSU) was established in the state in 2014.

In the first phase, the TSU worked closely with the dept. of health and ICDS to effectively improve quality and coverage of maternal and child health, family planning and nutrition intervention. Through AMANAT (onsite mentoring) intervention around 3940 nurses and 127 doctors are being trained in 400 PHCs/CHCs/FRUs and 21 district Hospitals. In a sustained synergic effort to further improve the health and nutrition status in Bihar, strengthening health systems and ensuring quality in the Continuum of Care, Government of Bihar in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and CARE India, has launched the second Phase of Technical Support Program.

Hon’ble Health Minister, Govt. of Bihar, Shri. Mangal Pandey launched the program on 19th September in Patna. Speaking on the occasion, he mentioned that in a very short span as a minister, he got a very convincing feedback about the good work of TSU is. Applauding the efforts of BMGF, CARE India, and other development partners, he mentioned that despite some positive changes in healthcare scenario in Bihar, there are a lot of more areas that would further be considered in the 2nd Phase. He also stressed on the use of technology to bring efficiency in the health delivery system and requested BMGF and CARE India to apprise the Govt. about new innovations across the Globe.

Mr. R.K. Mahajan, Principal Secretary, Health, lauded the GoB efforts particularly in building the necessary infrastructure and capacity development of the service providers. Emphasising that there is a further scope of improvement, he stressed on State Government’s commitment to provide quality Healthcare to people, improve the health infrastructure across the state, and work continuously towards establishing a people-centric healthcare system in the state. He praised the efforts of TSU in VL elimination program. He added that “we are thankful to BMGF and CARE India for their support, and look forward to working as a team.”

Chief of Party, Technical Support Unit, Dr. Hemant Shah highlighted the focus area of TSU in the next phase. He said that the unit will work on human resource-centric systemic improvement measures, and strengthen supply procurement area. He reiterated TSU continued support to achieve GoB’s Mission Manav Vikas goals.

The event was graced by the presence of State Program Officers, SHS, Bihar, Assistant Director ICDS, Training officer-ICDS, Shri Rajan Bahadur, MD and CEO CARE India, Ms. Usha Kiran, Country Lead, State Health and Community Systems, BMGF, and representatives from CARE USA and other dignitaries from Health Department.

This LAUNCH is being looked upon as the beginning of a new era in the Health Care Spectrum of Bihar.