Delhi To Set Up Special Mohalla Clinics For 'Women' In Next Financial Year Across City

The Delhi government on Tuesday, March 9, announced that special mohalla clinics for women will be set up in the next financial year.

The mahila mohalla clinics which will function on the lines of Aam Aadmi mohalla clinics offer free gynaecological and other medical services to women within a walkable distance from their homes.

Manish Sisodia, deputy chief minister and finance minister called it a "revolutionary movement" and said 100 such clinics will be set up in the first phase.

To date, Delhi is the first city to introduce the concept of mohalla clinics or neighbourhood health centres with the objective of providing affordable healthcare facilities.

At present, there are 496 operating mohalla clinics in the city, and the government may increase it to 1,000.

Sisodia said, "The Delhi government will now undertake the responsibility of having a 'mahila mohalla clinic' around every woman in Delhi and services of a gynaecologist, and related diagnostic tests will be made available for free. In the first phase, 100 are proposed to be established in different parts of Delhi, which will be progressively increased to at least one clinic in each ward".

The Delhi government allocated ₹9,934 crores to the healthcare sector in the annual budget for 2021-22, reported The Indian Express.

"We all know that our mothers and sisters are not able to talk to us about their health issues openly. A woman from the middle class might find herself a specialist. But in the middle class and lower-income families, she fails to reach a gynaecologist. It is a fact of our society that women tend to neglect their own illnesses. The result of this is that many women live with an ailment, assuming it as destiny," said Sisodia.

The government also allocated ₹1,293 crores for various projects for the expansion of health-related infrastructure. The number of hospital beds will increase by more than 14,000 after the completion and redesigning of new hospitals.

Apart from this, as much as ₹50 crores were allocated to the 'Aam Aadmi Free COVID-19 Vaccine' scheme. Under this scheme, the vaccine will be made available to the people of Delhi free of cost in government hospitals.

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