Nearly 30% of India’s population lives in urban areas. Urban migration over the last decade has resulted in rapid growth of people living in urban slums.
The massive inflow of the population has also resulted in the deterioration of living conditions in the cities.
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The available urban health care infrastructure is insufficient to meet the health care of the growing population. Available meagre data suggest that in some towns and cities the health status of urban slum dwellers is worse than that of rural population.
Realizing that the available health care infrastructure is insufficient to meet the health care need of the growing population municipalities, state governments and central government have tried to provide funds for building up urban health care.
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Unlike the rural health services there have not been any well planned and organised efforts to provide primary, secondary and tertiary care services in geographically delineated areas in urban health care.
As a result there is either a non-availability or substantial under utilization of primary care facilities along with an overcrowding at secondary and tertiary care centres-
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Efforts will have to be made to evolve a well structured organisation of urban primary health care to remedy the existing situation.
A health care delivery system aimed at providing basic health and F.W. services to the population within 1-2 kms of their dwellings have to be made available by creating Urban Health and Family Welfare Centre manned by medical and paramedical persons.
An overview of all facilities available in a defined geographical area will have to be undertaken and appropriate linkages between centres established so that provision of basic minimum health services and optimal utilization of available health care facilities is ensured.
The additional central assistance which is being provided as a part of Basic Minimum Services should be effectively utilized to fill the critical gaps in health manpower and infrastructure both in urban and rural areas so that the performance of both health and family welfare programme improve.