Strengthening Primary Health Centres in Mumbai
As part of the Community-Led Resilience and Adaptation Program (CLAP), Mumbai First, with support from the Gates Foundation and in partnership with SPARC and PHFI, is working to strengthen Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in Mumbai to better respond to the growing health impacts of climate change, particularly extreme heat.
The project focuses on improving the preparedness, infrastructure, service delivery and capacity of PHC teams to prevent, identify, and manage heat-related illnesses. The initiative is being implemented across selected wards of Mumbai and combines field assessments, community insights, health data and capacity-building interventions to generate practical evidence for strengthening the city’s primary healthcare system.
Key activities include mapping and assessing PHCs, identifying infrastructure and service delivery gaps, conducting consultations and focus group discussions with healthcare workers, analysing heat-risk and health data, and building the capacity of frontline health staff on heat-illness management and emergency preparedness. Essential equipment and heat-illness management support are also being provided based on identified needs.
The project also places communities at the centre of the intervention by promoting heat-preventive and health-seeking practices, particularly among vulnerable populations living in informal settlements and high-heat-risk areas.
The initiative aims to create a stronger, more climate-responsive primary healthcare system in Mumbai, with better-equipped PHCs, trained healthcare workers, improved community awareness, and data-driven understanding of heat vulnerability. The evidence generated through the project will also support ongoing efforts to strengthen and institutionalise a Health-Centric Heat Action Plan for Mumbai.
