Cabinet gives ex-post-facto nod to MoC between health dept, Gates Foundation

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave ex-post-facto approval to the memorandum of cooperation (MoC) between the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in the field of health.

The MoC was signed last November during the visit of Bill Gates, the co-chair and trustee of the foundation, to Delhi, an official statement said.

It covers areas of cooperation aimed at reducing maternal, neonatal and child morbidity and mortality, improve key nutrition outcomes by improving the reach, coverage and quality of essential primary health, immunization and nutrition services.

The memorandum of cooperation also aims at increasing the choice and quality for family planning methods, specially for reversible methods and increase access amongst younger women and reduce the burden of select infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, visceral leishmaniasis and lymphatic filariasis, a statement said.

It also includes strengthening health systems, including aspects such as budget utilization, management and skills of human resources for health, digital health, strengthening supply chains and monitoring systems.

Also a Programme Action Committee (PAC) will be set up to further elaborate the details of cooperation and to oversee the implementation of this memorandum of cooperation.