4,400 Village Health Clinics will get new buildings by March 2027, says Andhra Health Minister

Andhra Pradesh Health, Medical and Family Welfare Satya Kumar Yadav on Tuesday said that a deadline of March 2027 has been set to construct new buildings for 4,400 Village Health Clinics (VHCs) in the State.

Inaugurating a building for the VHC at Janardhanapuram under Gudivada Assembly constituency in Krishna district on Tuesday, the Minister said while 267 VHCs across 24 districts have got permanent buildings on Tuesday, the government is expediting works on the construction of another 4,400 buildings.

Village Health Clinics (VHCs) play a key role in ensuring that people living in rural areas get access to healthcare services, and the government has accorded top priority to completing the construction of new buildings for these clinics, he said.

There are 10,032 VHCs or Ayushman Arogya Mandirs in Andhra Pradesh. Launched in 2018 under the National Health Mission, a VHC was conceptualised to take basic healthcare services closer to people in the rual pockets.

Those with BSc Nursing degrees were roped in to run these clinics, with ASHAs and ANMs working under them. These are called Community Health Officers (CHOs). For every 5,000 population, there is a CHO.

The Minister said while funds were given to the State under the NHM for the construction of these clinics in 2018, the previous government did not make proper use of it.

As a result, construction of around 3,000 clinics was completed during the five-year rule of the YSRCP, while the remaining 7,000 clinics waited for a permanent building, Mr. Satya Kumar Yadav said.

Out of those inaugurated on Tuesday, Krishna district has received the maximum of 42 buildings. In the past two years, CHOs staged multiple protests demanding a permanent building to run the clinic. Many clinics in the State are run from rented accomodations.

Health Secretary G. Veerapandian, Gudivada MLA Venigandla Ramu, Gannavaram MLA Yarlagadda Venkata Rao, Pamarru MLA Varla Kumar Raja, Pedana MLA Kagitha Krishna Prasad also spoke on the occasion.