Govt of Meghalaya partners with BMGF to enhance health, nutrition & agriculture

New Delhi: The Government of Meghalaya has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to collaborate on improving health, nutrition, and agriculture outcomes in the state. 

The agreement aims to enhance maternal and newborn health, family planning, nursing education, and agriculture and livestock development. Meghalaya is the third state in India, after Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, to establish such a partnership with the Gates Foundation, focusing on both health and agriculture.

The MoU sets the groundwork for improving healthcare delivery in Meghalaya, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly the health-related targets for 2030. The four-year partnership will see both parties collaborating on multiple activities to ensure effective implementation of the objectives, backed by regular monitoring and evaluation to track progress.

The Gates Foundation will provide financial and technical support to improve outcomes across twelve critical areas: comprehensive primary healthcare, family planning, maternal and neonatal health, immunization, childhood nutrition, nursing education, supply chain management, digital health, results-based financing, performance management, competency development for government functionaries, and agriculture and livestock development.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Meghalaya’s Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma, and the state’s Health and Agriculture Minister, Dr. M Ampareen Lyngdoh. Representing the Gates Foundation at the event was M. Hari Menon, Director of the India Country Office, while Sampath Kumar, Principal Secretary, Health & Family Welfare Department, signed on behalf of the Government of Meghalaya. 

Speaking at the MoU signing, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma highlighted, “We need to have the right-minded people with the right desire, goal, and mindset to sit together and try to resolve the problems, the institutional setups, and the plans that we have. We have started to make plans based on the real problems, the institutional systems and what we have to do to address the problems. To conclude, for us what matters is how to make life better for our citizens.” He further emphasized the government’s focus on improving the socio-economic conditions of women, particularly mothers.

Health Minister Dr. Ampareen Lyngdoh echoed these sentiments, expressing optimism about the collaboration’s potential to address gaps in healthcare services and develop a model that could be replicated across other northeastern states. 

The partnership will pursue three key strategic goals: reducing maternal, neonatal, and child mortality; promoting health and nutrition services with a gender-focused approach; and building local institutional capacity to support sustainable change. Key initiatives include increasing access to family planning services, managing anaemia, and improving emergency transport for maternal and neonatal care. The collaboration will also enhance nursing education and introduce IT solutions for primary healthcare, improving decision-making through digital health and performance-based financing.

Hari Menon, Director of the Gates Foundation’s India Country Office, commented, “This MoU underscores our commitment to ensuring equitable access to essential health and nutrition services. We look forward to working with the Government of Meghalaya to strengthen the health system, foster innovation and enhance institutional capacity to help achieve long-term, sustainable health outcomes for the people of Meghalaya.”

Sampath Kumar, Principal Secretary & Development Commissioner for the Government of Meghalaya, added, “This partnership is a significant step in our endeavour towards reaching people of Meghalaya for quality health and nutrition care. Altogether, our mission is to develop a health system that can be safe for future generations.”

Several high-ranking officials from both the Meghalaya government and the Gates Foundation also attended the signing, including Dr. Vijay Kumar D., Commissioner & Secretary of Planning & Sustainable Development, Dr. Rajani Ved, Director of Health at the Gates Foundation’s India office and others.

The partnership will also focus on agriculture and livestock development, with an emphasis on supporting small farmers and building value chains to enhance their productivity. Additionally, efforts will be made to improve maternal and neonatal health, address childhood malnutrition through supplementary feeding programs, and modernize nursing education with a globally competitive curriculum. The Meghalaya State Health Society will coordinate the activities funded by the Gates Foundation and monitor progress to ensure sustainability.