New Delhi: Abbott in India, in collaboration with Americares India Foundation, has completed the upgradation of 216 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to Health and Wellness Centres across 12 states since the program started in 2022, reinforcing the company’s commitment to advancing quality and affordable healthcare.
As a part of the scale-up, Abbott will upgrade more than 300 PHCs to Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) in India by 2026, potentially benefitting over 9 million people across 12 states. These include Maharashtra, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, and Jharkhand.
The 127 PHCs that were in the initial phase of upgradation are showing significant improvements in care infrastructure, service delivery capabilities, and community support for health services.
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18% increase in outpatients was reported in 2024 as compared to 2022
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Moreover, there has been more than 75% increase in the number of lab tests conducted across these centres in 2024 compared to 2022
The rising uptake of medical services at the centres can be attributed to several factors. These are:
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Greater community engagement and awareness.
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Equipping healthcare workers and support staff with key information to guide people on prevention and healthy lifestyles.
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Prioritizing timely disease detection.
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Infrastructural improvements, and the adoption of tools and processes that streamline diagnosis and care processes for faster care delivery.
Helping PHCs Grow Stronger:
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The local upgradation efforts include screening and management for NCDs and communicable diseases.
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Emergency medical services including oxygen support, dialysis, medical emergency stabilization services, stretchers), ENT and geriatric care services.
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Yoga rooms have been introduced for healthy lifestyle, and more.
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Other focus areas include maternal health, and neonatal care, as well as supporting childhood and adolescent health.
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The centres are also well-equipped with essential medical instruments. These include ECG machines, digital spirometers, binocular microscopes, instruments supporting screening, adequate refrigeration capacity, and more.
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The centers’ fundamental infrastructure provisions have also been strengthened with water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions, enabling access to safe drinking water and separate, clean washrooms and handwash stations.
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Americares have put in 250,000 hours of training till date for PHC health workers and Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers. Till March 2025 4,388 PHC-level health workers and 5,460 ASHAs have been trained.