Two years of AAP govt: Model clinics give healthcare a new face in Delhi

Over five months, 110 mohalla clinics have treated 8 lakh patients, as per the government data. The AAP government showcased this as a path breaking achievement and received international acclaim. However, insiders believe that the project is still in its nascent stage and is far from being a game changer for health sector.

World leaders like former UN secretary general Kofi Annan and former WHO director general Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland praised the project for aiming to provide free public health care and indicated the need to scale up the project as well as improve its management. “The project could be a model for all Indian states



embarking on the UHC (Universal Health Care) journeys,” read the letter to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal by Annan in his capacity as chair of The Elders, an organisation of independent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela.

The government had planned to set up 1,000 mohalla clinics for consultation, medicines and tests free of cost by the end of 2016. This deadline has been extended to March 2017 but it is unlikely that the government will be able to meet it. With, only around 110 mohalla clinics functional, the AAP government has sought to take refuge in its infamous tussle with the lieutenant governor and Centre.