Three-year partnership will cover all 30 districts, reach nearly 4.19 crore people and focus on RMNCAH+N, tuberculosis, malaria and better last-mile health delivery
BHUBANESWAR (India CSR®): In a major push to build stronger and more responsive public health systems, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Odisha, Piramal Foundation and Tata Steel Foundation have entered into a three-year tripartite partnership covering all 30 districts of the state. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Bhubaneswar on August 4, 2026. The partnership brings together the leadership of the state government and the public-systems experience of two major philanthropic organisations. It seeks to improve the functioning of health institutions, strengthen decision-making and enhance the quality and efficiency of services delivered to communities.
The initiative is expected to reach nearly 4.19 crore people across Odisha. Under the district-level division of responsibilities, Piramal Foundation will support work in 14 districts, while Tata Steel Foundation will support 16 districts. This allocation gives the collaboration a state-wide footprint and creates a common framework for strengthening public health systems at scale.
Senior Govt and Development Leaders Attend MoU Ceremony
The partnership was formalised in the presence of Odisha’s Minister of Health and Family Welfare; the Secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare; the Mission Director of the National Health Mission (NHM); the Mission Director of Odisha State Medical Corporation Limited (OSMCL); senior officials of the Health Department; and development partners. Publicly reported details identify the formal signatories as Dr. Rabindranath Misra, Director, Public Health, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Odisha; Dr. Anuj Bhatnagar, Head of Public Health, Tata Steel Foundation; and Dr. Sunil Babu, Core Team Member, Kaivalya Education Foundation, an entity of Piramal Foundation.
Their participation underlines the collaborative nature of the initiative. The partnership is designed to work closely with the Department of Health and Family Welfare and district health systems. It will support the state’s priorities and follow a phased implementation plan rather than operate as a separate or parallel delivery structure.
Focus on Mothers, Children, Adolescents and Nutrition
A central priority of the collaboration will be Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, commonly referred to as RMNCAH+N. This continuum-of-care approach recognises that better health outcomes depend on coordinated support across different stages of life. The partnership will seek to strengthen planning, monitoring, governance and institutional capacity related to these services. It will also support efforts to improve the quality of care available at the last mile, where public health programmes directly interact with women, children, adolescents, families and vulnerable communities.
By building the capabilities of institutions and health-system leaders, the initiative aims to make services more responsive and reliable. The emphasis is not limited to expanding activity. It also includes improving the systems through which health priorities are identified, resources are managed, performance is reviewed and corrective action is taken.
Tuberculosis and Malaria Remain Key Priorities
Alongside RMNCAH+N, the partners will focus on tuberculosis and malaria. Both diseases require sustained surveillance, timely detection, coordinated programme management and consistent access to quality services at the community level. The three-year collaboration will support the public system in identifying operational gaps and strengthening the mechanisms needed to respond to them. Better use of data, stronger governance and closer coordination between state and district institutions can help health teams direct attention and resources to areas of greater need.
The partnership will also promote evidence-based planning and targeted implementation. This can enable health administrators and frontline systems to move from merely collecting information to using it for practical decisions, timely interventions and better monitoring of outcomes.
Governance and Institutional Capacity at the Core
The MoU places governance and institutional capacity at the centre of public health improvement. Strong health outcomes depend not only on infrastructure and medical services, but also on the ability of institutions to plan, coordinate, review and deliver programmes effectively. The collaboration will therefore work on leadership development, institutional capabilities and mechanisms for accountability. It will support the public system in examining systemic challenges and developing solutions that can be sustained beyond a single campaign or funding cycle. The programme is also expected to address important system functions such as service delivery, human resources for health, supply-chain management and health financing. These functions influence whether medicines, staff, information and services are available where and when communities need them.
Data-Driven Decisions for Better Delivery
Data-driven decision-making will be another major pillar of the partnership. Public health data can be most valuable when it is accurate, timely and converted into action. The initiative will help strengthen the ability of health institutions to examine performance, identify gaps and make informed decisions at the state and district levels. Digital and innovative models may also be used to improve efficiency, monitoring and service delivery. However, technology will serve as an enabler within the broader public system. Its value will depend on whether institutions and health leaders can use the information generated to improve planning and respond to local realities.
This approach can be especially important for last-mile delivery. District and field-level teams often need clear information to identify underserved populations, track programme performance and ensure that essential services reach intended beneficiaries.
Piramal Foundation to Bring Public-Systems Expertise
Piramal Foundation will leverage its experience of working with public institutions to identify systemic challenges, strengthen leadership and build institutional capacity. Its role will include helping public-system actors develop solutions that are scalable, locally relevant and sustainable. The Foundation’s approach is rooted in the belief that lasting social change requires strong institutions and committed leadership. In Odisha, this experience will be applied to the health system with an emphasis on collaboration, problem-solving and the ability of government institutions to sustain improvements over time.
Tata Steel Foundation will provide strategic and technical support across its allocated 16 districts. Its participation adds experience in community-centred development and public health engagement, while the state government will provide policy leadership, institutional alignment and direction for implementation.
A State-Wide Model of Collaborative Action
The partnership reflects a wider shift in social development: from isolated projects towards system-level collaboration. Instead of focusing only on short-term outputs, the three partners will work on the institutional conditions needed to produce better health outcomes consistently. The state-wide scale is significant. Covering all 30 districts makes it possible to connect policy priorities at the state level with implementation realities in districts and communities. It can also create opportunities for shared learning, comparison of district experiences and replication of practices that deliver measurable improvements. At the same time, state-wide coverage will require strong coordination. Clear roles, reliable review mechanisms and regular use of evidence will be essential to ensure that the partnership translates into improvements experienced by people at the last mile.
Guided by Sewa Bhaav and Shared Responsibility
The collaboration will be guided by Sewa Bhaav, inclusion, partnership and shared responsibility. These principles position public health as a collective commitment in which government leadership, institutional expertise and community participation reinforce one another. The three-year MoU represents more than an organisational agreement. It is an attempt to strengthen the underlying systems that shape public health delivery across Odisha. By combining governance reform, institutional capacity, data use and last-mile service improvement, the partners aim to enable lasting transformation and better health outcomes for the people of the state.
For Odisha, the initiative offers an opportunity to build public health institutions that are stronger, more responsive and better equipped to address both persistent and emerging challenges. Its long-term value will be measured by the extent to which strengthened systems translate into timely, equitable and quality healthcare for communities across all 30 districts.
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