Mohalla Clinics

Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics (AAMC), also known as Mohalla Clinics, are primary health centres in the union territory of Delhi and state of Punjab in India. They offer a basic package of essential health services including medicines, diagnostics, and consultation free of cost.[1] The word Mohalla in Hindi means neighborhood or community. These clinics serve to be the first point of contact for the patients and hence reduce the high amount of referrals to secondary and tertiary health facilities in the state.[2]

Background

Mohalla Clinics were first set up by the Aam Aadmi Party government in October 2015, and as of 2020, 300 such clinics have been set up across the city and have served more than 16.24 million residents.[3][4][5] The Government has kept a promise of setting up 1000 such clinics in the city before the 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly Elections. According to the World Health Organization data for the year 2015, more than 65% of the population in India paid for their health from their own pockets. The Hindu, reported in 2017 that only 17% of people in the country have health insurance.[6][7] The idea behind the Mohalla Clinics initiative is to reduce the financial burden on low-income households by saving travel costs and lost wages.

Reception

In December 2017, India's renowned cardiac surgeon and founder of Narayana Health, Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty from Karnataka, visited a Mohalla Clinic in Todapur, Delhi. He was amazed by the healthcare facilities provided to the underserved public by the Delhi Government.[8] The former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, who is also the chairperson on The Elders (an international non-governmental organization of independent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela) wrote a letter to the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, praising the Mohalla Clinic project.[9] The project was also praised by the former Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland at the Prince Mahidol Award Conference at Bangkok, after a presentation by Delhi health minister Satyendra Kumar Jain.[10]

The Straits Times, an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore finds Mohalla Clinics to be high-tech where results of most of the tests are known within two minutes and are uploaded onto an IT cloud for access by patients and their doctors on their smartphones and the clinic's tablets.[11] Meanwhile, in a report published by The Washington Post, it suggests "It may well be time for America to build Mohalla Clinics in its cities". However, the writer of the article later criticized the AAP government for misrepresentation of his words as well as making false claims on the basis of which this report was written and published.[12]

A vigilance probe in the year 2017 also put a question on the quality of healthcare being received by the patients with every doctor treating 2 patients per minute, which comes out to a patient only getting 36 seconds to not only state their ailment but also get treatment.[13]

Instances of untouchability issues have been reported to exist in some forms at the AAMCs as "health practitioners overwhelmingly and disproportionately belong to upper and middle castes, who often assert a pattern of dominance. Researchers found large-scale segregation within slums, most notably against Dalits, particularly Valmikis and Chamars, which has led to discrimination in terms of healthcare access as some of the upper-caste house-owners stop people from oppressed castes from entering clinics operating on their property."[14] In 2022, Bhagwant Mann led government said that 75 such clinics will also be open in Punjab.

References
  1. Sharma, Dinesh C (2016-12-10). "Delhi looks to expand community clinic initiative". The Lancet. 388 (10062): 2855. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)32513-2. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 27979396. S2CID 5464357.
  2. Khanna, Pretika (2016-08-30). "Mohalla clinic: AAP offers affordable healthcare model at doorstep". livemint.com/. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  3. Upadhyay, Aishwarya (2020-02-10). ""Mohalla Clinics Have Revolutionized The Delivery Of Healthcare In Delhi," Experts Laud Delhi's 450 Mohalla Clinics". ndtv.com. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  4. "Mohalla clinics served 16.24 million people in four years: Delhi health minister". Hindustan Times. 2019-09-06. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  5. Chatterjee, Pritha (2015-07-20). "'Unbelievable' to reality: CM Arvind Kejriwal opens city's first 'mohalla clinic'". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  6. "Out-of-pocket expenditure as percentage of current health expenditure". World Health Organization. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  7. Mehra, Puja. "Only 17% have health insurance cover". The Hindu. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  8. "Cardiac surgeon Devi Shetty visits Mohalla Clinic in Todapur". New Indian Express. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  9. "Kofi Annan lauds AAP's Mohalla Clinics project, suggests reforms". HindustanTimes. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  10. "After Kofi Annan, another world leader praises AAP govt's mohalla clinics". HindustanTimes. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  11. "Sick throng Indian capital's new, high-tech clinics". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  12. "US academic slams Kejriwal for misrepresenting his article about Delhi's mohalla clinics | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. Feb 7, 2020. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  13. Saxena, Astha (2017-02-22). "Vigilance probe unearths 'scam' in AAP's Mohalla Clinics; docs treat 2 patients a minute". DNA India. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  14. "Delhi's Mohalla Clinics Hold the Potential to Significantly Improve Access to Quality Healthcare". Economic and Political Weekly: 7–8. 5 June 2015.
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