Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Jeff Raikes at the news meet in Patna on Monday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, July 16: Senior officials of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who were in Bihar today to review healthcare projects undertaken by it, termed the progress of the schemes as “satisfactory” and promised to scale up the works for the entire state.

Jeff Raikes, chief executive officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, visited a primary health centre and a sub-center in Ujiyarpur block of Samastipur today, around 110km northeast of Patna. The foundation’s India director Girindre Beeharry and other senior officials of the organisation accompanied him.

Raikes, at a news meet in Patna later, said the progress of Ananya — an initiative launched with the help of the state government two years back — was positive.

“We went to the hospitals and saw that quality of health services offered to the people has improved. I am especially impressed by the way auxiliary nurse and midwives, accredited social health workers and Anganwari workers work closely to improve community healthcare,” Raikes said.

He added that the purpose of the visit was not to evaluate the initiative but to oversee its progress.

Beeharry said the foundation’s initiative to start mobile training teams in primary heath centres has yielded good results. He added that there were plans afoot to scale up the project for the entire state and to work in the field of agriculture as well.

In 2010, the foundation began its collaboration with the state government and has been working in the field of healthcare for women, newborns and children since. It will spend $100 million under the project over five years.

Raikes and Beeharry will meet senior government functionaries like principal secretaries of health, social welfare and agriculture departments tomorrow.

The foundation’s projects, have been initiated in eight districts of Bihar.