According to the latest reports, the Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), a city-based NGO, has established a health care centre in a mosque to provide free health services in urban slums.
A survey conducted in the urban twin slums of Mohammedi Lines and Hakeempet, located on the western side of the city and bordering market areas such as Shaikpet, Jubilee Hills, and Tolichowki, revealed a lack of primary healthcare facilities, particularly in Hakeempet, which has an estimated population of about two lakh people, mostly daily labourers.
Helping Hand Foundation (HHF), a city-based NGO, has established a health care centre in a mosque to provide free health services in urban slums. The foundation performed a door-to-door survey in Hakeempet and Mohammedi Lines, contacting 514 households to assess people’s health and if services were adequate.
According to HHF, the survey included 46% of males and 54% of females. As many as 77% of people visit private clinics, 19% visit ‘Basti Dawakhanas,’ and 4% visit a local government hospital. According to the poll, the majority of residents in the slums frequent private clinics and hospitals. Forty-five per cent said they spend up to Rs 200 per visit, while the remainder said they spend between Rs 200 and 300 or more. This amounts to an average of Rs 2,000-3,000 in out-of-pocket expenses per month.
“Private clinics are not open during the day, according to more than 60% of respondents. Even after paying, people usually have to wait until the evening to gain access to clinics,” HHF’s Mujtaba Hasan Askari said.
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In response to the survey results, HHF, in conjunction with SEED-USA and Masjid-e-Ibrahim in Hakeempet, has opened its fifth primary health care centre in Hakeempet and Mohammedi Lines.
All five PHCs have one thing in common: they are located in inner slums and operate out of space provided by mosques. Habib Quadri, president of SEED-USA, officially opened the Quadri Clinic at Masjid Ibrahim. His family has offered to sponsor it.
Askari stated that the clinic will have two doctors and nurses, a pharmacist, a data entry operator, and two NCD counsellors and that it will require Rs 30 lakh per year to give free consultations, medicines, and allied services to the underprivileged sectors.
“At the grassroots level, we are introducing high-quality primary health care combined with additional adjuvant interventions like eye, dental, and NCDs, which is having a profound impact on the health outcomes and socioeconomic well-being of Hyderabad’s urban slums,” stated Askari.
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