New Delhi [India], Sept 7 (ANI): Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the Mohalla clinic facility as the "best and most systematic form of healthcare."

Ban, along with former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, paid a visit to a Mohalla clinic in West Delhi's Peeragarhi area earlier in the day.

After the visit, Ban hailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's vision of ensuring a strong primary healthcare and said that the Mohalla clinics and polyclinics are the best forms of providing good healthcare.

The former UN Secretary-General said, "I have been to different parts of the world, but what I saw today is the best and systematic form of healthcare in the form of Mohalla clinics and polyclinics. Chief Minister Kejriwal has a great vision when it is about primary healthcare. I deeply appreciate it."

Stressing on the need for providing better healthcare facilities in India, Brundtland elucidated, "It is great to be here visiting the Mohalla clinics in Delhi. These clinics help in securing the prevention of diseases and promotes well being and good health. It is important that proper healthcare facilities should be provided in nutrition, child immunisation, pregnancy and maternal and child health in India."

She called for countries in South Asia, including India, to increase their spending in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to pay more attention to improving the healthcare sector.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal said that the Delhi government has set up 189 mohalla clinics in the last 2.5 years, adding that it would set up 1,000 such clinics in the next few months.

"We had several problems in setting up these clinics. There were several political interventions and obstructions. 189 mohalla clinics have been set up in the last two-and-half years. We will set up 1,000 such clinics in the next few months," he said.

The Delhi Chief Minister underscored that the government is now spending more than 12 per cent from its budget to strengthen the healthcare sector in the state.

Requesting the Centre to increase their budget for healthcare, Kejriwal further said, "The central government should increase their GDP spending from 1 to 2.5 percent. The reach of these mohalla clinics has to spread across the country. In Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, work on constructing such clinics have begun."

The Mohalla Clinics and Polyclinics are flagship projects of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), where medicines, diagnostic tests, and consultation are provided free of cost. These clinics also serve as the first point of contact for the local population and aim to reduce the load of referrals in big hospitals.

Many international organisations and world leaders have hailed the Mohalla Clinics idea, saying that such facilities should come up all over the world to help those who cannot afford basic medical facilities, access quality healthcare and improve their health. (ANI)