Twenty-five percent of India’s poor live in urban areas and by 2025 the number is expected to grow to 50 percent. The fastest growing population in India for the foreseeable future will be the urban poor, who have less access to quality health services and poorer health (including higher infant and child mortality and malnutrition rates) than rural populations.

Improving the health of India’s urban poor – particularly women, newborns and children – is a high priority for the Government of India and the USAID. USAID’s Urban Health Program aims to improve reproductive and child health in urban poor populations, especially to those dwelling in slums.

The project:

• Develops and validates improved, replicable approaches for addressing child health issues in urban areas and disseminates these findings to health professionals;
• Builds the local capacity of national, state and municipal governments to better meet the needs of urban poor population;
• Increases resource allocation for urban health through policy analysis, technical consultations and reports, workshops, and advocacy;
• Provides local organizations and health care professionals with technical assistance to improve and update health care services for women and children; and
• Delivers technical support for the development and implementation of the National Reproductive and Child Health Program, including the formation of city and state urban health plans.