The Norwegian Government has announced a competition called Vision 2030 for innovative projects that help further develop initiatives on health and education. As a part of the innovation initiative Vision 2030, the Government will spend up to NOK 150 million over a three-year period on developing new projects for fighting poverty. The deadline for sending in project outlines in this first round is 17 February 2016.
"Traditional development aid is coming under pressure, and in order to solve today's development challenges, it is more important than ever to think innovatively and involve new actors," says the Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende. This is why the Norwegian Government is launching the competition for new ideas on innovative health and education projects. "I would particularly like to encourage Norwegian businesses to take part in the competition, by all means in partnership with other Norwegian and international actors," says Mr Brende.
The Research council of Norway, Innovation Norway and The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) are collaborating on this new initiative to endorse health and education projects. These organizations are already present in India and are supporting Norway-India education and health projects in many ways.
One such project that has been running successfully is the Norway-India Partnership Initiative (NIPI), which originated as a response to the UN Millennium goal of reducing child mortality and has continued to contribute to improved heath security.
For example, in 2012, a programme called Home Based Newborn Care+ (HBNC+) was launched in three districts in Madhya Pradesh. It involved Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) making home visits and teaching new parents about health, hygiene and appropriate feeding in addition to monitoring their growth to ensure they are healthy and not suffering from malnourishment.
This has led to relationships of trust being established between the health workers and the parents, thereby contributing to the goal of increase in the number of healthy children. Now, it is hoped that Vision 2030 will encourage more such initiatives and help the overall cause of the sustainable development goals.
The Norwegian government looks forward to seeing the results of the competition and hopes to see many great ideas that will help reduce poverty globally.
