Meghalaya Govt signs MoU with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Jammu Tawi:The Government of Meghalaya and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) made a major stride in the area of health, nutrition and agriculture today when they entered into an MoU to work together towards improving population health outcomes of the state, particularly related to maternal and newborn health, family planning, nursing education and agriculture and livestock development. Meghalaya is only the third state in Indiain area of both health and agriculture, after Uttar Pradesh & Bihar, with whom the Gates Foundation is establishing a partnership. The MoU was signed in the presence of the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Mr. Conrad K Sangma and Hon'ble Minister of Health & Family Welfare and Agriculture, Dr. M Ampareen Lyngdoh. Shri. M. Hari Menon, Director of the India Country Office at the Gates Foundation, and Mr. Sampath Kumar, Principal Secretary to the GoM, Health & Family Welfare Department on behalf of the state signed the MoU. Other members present during the signing were Commissioner & Secretary, Planning & Investment, Promotion & Sustainable Development, Government of Meghalaya, Dr. Vijay Kumar D.; Commissioner & Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Joram Beda; Secretary of Health and Family Welfare & Mission Director of NHM, Government of Meghalaya, Mr. Ramkumar S; Director of Health for the India Country Office at the Gates Foundation Dr. Rajani Ved, as well as other senior officials from the Meghalaya Government and BMGF.The MoU signed today called for the realization of efficient and effective healthcare solutions in Meghalaya, and the parties also pledged to undertake numerous activities in the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially the health-related goal for the year 2030. Speaking at the signing event, the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad K. Sangma emphasized the importance of this collaboration and said, “We are happy and excited about the partnership that we are going to have with Gates Foundation. 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 are looking at expertise in terms of knowledge. To conclude, for us what matters is how to make life better for our citizens.” “We have started to make plans based on the real problems, the institutional systems and what we have to do to address the problems. We will go the extra mile to make sure that we achieve the goals that we want. It will not be easy, but it is a continuous process,” he said.