For the first time in the city, a health insurance scheme for slum dwellers has been proposed as part of the services to be delivered to the ‘urban poor’ under the National Urban Health Mission. A series of workshops which were held in Pune before the terror attacks in Mumbai had had experts from municipal corporations and municipal councils across the state participating in how to provide better services to the urban poor.

The NUHM — which is modeled along the lines of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) — is aimed at providing basic health care facilities for the urban population- especially urban slum dwellers. Free of cost health care facilities will be available under the NUHM, Pune Municipal Corporation’s City Family Welfare bureau chief Dr Anjali Sabne said.

While the NUHM has to be officially launched in the country, states have been given guidelines and civic officials in their respective cities are preparing an action plan to ensure services to the urban poor. Initially in the first phase 100 cities in the country will launch NUHM. This includes Pune. Forty per cent of the city’s population lives in slums and according to Dr Sabne at least 8-10 lakh are slum dwellers.

The PMC has already put in place an insurance scheme for senior citizens and as part of the NUHM will include slum dwellers in its fold. The slum dwellers will have to pay a minimal amount and via the insurance model can avail health care facilities at private hospitals. “We are still in the planning stages,’’says Sabne.

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