When Cities Fail, Urban Health Suffers. We're Improving Both.
Good health shouldn’t be a luxury. Yet for millions of urban poor in India, it remains out of reach.
At the Urban Health Initiative, we are bridging health inequities in India’s cities by strengthening governance, facilitating convergence across sectors, & empowering community participation. We are not just addressing symptoms - we are transforming cities to make them healthier, resilient & sustainable for all.
Initiative for Healthier Cities
Credit: Photo by Danish Saddiqui
Taken From: ABC news article
Good health shouldn’t be a luxury. Yet for millions of urban poor in India, it remains out of reach. At the Urban Health Initiative, we are bridging health inequities in India’s cities by strengthening governance, facilitating convergence across sectors, and empowering community participation. We are not just addressing symptoms - we are transforming cities to make them healthier, resilient and sustainable for all.
Research Shows
Globally, more than
4.4 Bn People
over half of humanity, now live in urban areas.
Research Shows
Today,
1.1 Bn People
people live in slums with poor health, unsafe housing, and inadequate sanitation. This number could triple by 2050.
Research Shows
Air pollution alone kills around
7 Mn People
annually, and nearly every city dweller breathes air that fails to meet WHO standards of air quality guideline values.
Research Shows
Globally, more than
4.4 Bn
People
Over half of humanity, now lives in urban areas.
Research Shows
Today,
1.1 Bn People
people live in slums with poor health, unsafe housing, and inadequate sanitation. This number could triple by 2050.
Research Shows
Air pollution alone kills around
7 Mn People
annually, and nearly every city dweller breathes air that fails to meet WHO standards of air quality guideline values.
What Ails Healthcare in Our Cities?
India’s rapid urbanisation presents both tremendous opportunities & profound challenges: while cities grow, health systems struggle to evolve quickly enough to serve those who need them most.
This challenge manifests as a widening health divide.
Urban poor men live 9.1 years less, women 6.2 years less than their affluent counterparts.
Child mortality rates among urban poor exceed their rural counterparts.
Out-of-pocket expenses push vulnerable families deeper into poverty.
This inequality stems from interwoven challenges. Housing conditions, social marginalisation, occupational hazards, & environmental factors create multiple layers of vulnerability. Climate change further amplifies these risks through pollution, heat waves, & flooding. Despite proximity to health facilities, meaningful access remains elusive for the urban poor & marginalised.
These complex challenges demand not just urgent attention, but a reimagined approach to urban health — one where systems & individuals work in harmony, to protect & promote the wellbeing of all citizens, particularly the most vulnerable.
The City Promises Opportunity.
Health Should Be Part of That Promise.
The Urban Health Initiative:
A New Blueprint for Urban Health
The Urban Health Initiative applies a comprehensive, multi-dimensional approach to urban health challenges. We look beyond traditional healthcare delivery to address the interconnected factors that determine health outcomes in India’s rapidly growing cities. Our collaborative works at multiple levels translating policy into action through pilot interventions, capacity building & systemic reforms.
We focus on creating sustainable improvements in how cities plan, finance, & deliver public health services with measurable outcomes. At the same time, we work with community members to strengthen platforms for collective action, while enhancing voices & agencies of the most marginalised.
Our framework rests on
three essential dimensions:
Governance
We strengthen urban governance systems, enabling city governments to effectively plan, budget, & deliver quality health services. By enhancing institutional knowledge & expertise, local bodies can develop sustainable capacity to lead health initiatives, especially for vulnerable populations.
Convergence
We facilitate structured collaboration between government departments, civil society organisations, & private sector partners. This coordinated approach transforms siloed interventions into cohesive action, maximising impact & resource utilisation across sectors that influence health outcomes.
Community
We place vulnerable urban communities at the centre of solution development. Through participatory planning & ward-level engagement, we ensure citizen voices shape health priorities & implementation, creating sustainable, community-owned interventions.
Collaborative Expertise in Action
Our three-pronged approach comes from the combined vision of our founding organisations, each bringing essential expertise to the Urban Health Initiative:
Conducts diagnostics of urban health facilities, develops city health action plans, & builds convergence mechanisms between health departments & urban local bodies.
Health systems specialists focused on strengthening public health systems.
Supports informal sector workers and entrepreneurs with a special emphasis on women; creates pathways out of poverty that directly impact health outcomes.
Experts in building multi-stakeholder platforms that focus on enhancing economic opportunities of marginalised groups.
Drives urban governance reform; enhances municipal capacity for revenue generation, operational efficiency, & planned development — essential foundations for sustainable urban health systems.
Leaders in urban governance reform & participatory planning.
Five Goals, One Vision
We envision an India where all citizens living in cities achieve the highest possible quality of life. Our roadmap to creating this reality is through five goals:
1
Five Goals, One Vision
Enhance the capacity of city governments & healthcare providers to identify & address urban health needs & challenges.
Five Goals, One Vision
2
Ensure access & availability of quality, comprehensive primary healthcare services in underserved urban areas.
Five Goals, One Vision
3
Build collaborative platforms & create effective partnerships across sectors for better health outcomes.
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Five Goals, One Vision
4
Strengthen city resilience against climate related health challenges through capacity building.
Five Goals, One Vision
5
Empower communities, especially vulnerable urban groups, to drive
solutions & amplify participation.
Blueprint to Reality: The Urban Health Initiative in Action
The Urban Health Initiative operates at the intersection of imminent need & long-term vision. We address today's urban health crises while simultaneously strengthening the foundations for a healthier tomorrow.
Our implementation strategy combines focused city interventions with broader systemic reform. This approach bridges immediate action with lasting change, allowing us to demonstrate working models while creating the policy environment for these innovations to scale nationally.
By working across governance structures, sectoral boundaries, & community divides, we create sustainable mechanisms for cities to better serve their most vulnerable residents.
On The Ground
Our work is rooted in the realities of cities. We engage directly with communities, health workers, & local systems to understand everyday challenges & translate insights into practical, scalable solutions. From field assessments to pilot projects, we focus on implementation that creates lasting urban impact.
Our work in Uttar Pradesh serves as both implementation & learning — a platform to develop, test, & refine governance models for urban health. Through the state's Aspirational Cities Programme (UP-ACP), we're creating frameworks that will guide urban health transformation across India. The programme, also known as Akankshi Nagar Yojana (ANY), aims to ensure holistic sustainable development in 100 cities with populations between 20,000 & 100,000.
It focuses on improving municipal service delivery, economic opportunities, & quality of life for all citizens. The Urban Health Initiative serves as a core knowledge partner for this programme, applying our holistic approach to address urban health challenges in these emerging cities. Our partnership provides an ideal opportunity to implement our model where it can create meaningful impact — in urban centres experiencing rapid growth with evolving governance systems.
UP ACP has provided the perfect platform to UHI, to test its reimagined vision for urban health.
Our work in Uttar Pradesh follows a ‘T-approach’
Deep Implementation:
We are developing comprehensive City Action Plans that integrate health, governance, & economic interventions in five cities. These cities serve as innovation labs where we implement, document, & refine approaches for wider application.
Systems Reform:
At the state level, we address the structural barriers that affect all cities through policy recommendations, capacity building, & governance reforms. These interventions create an enabling environment for sustainable urban health improvements.
Research Associate
Location: San Francisco
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Environmental Health & Safety Consultant
Location: San Francisco
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Senior CSM
Location: San Francisco
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Join Forces for
India’s Urban Health Transformation
We believe that lasting change in urban health emerges through patience, sustained effort, & a spirit of shared responsibility. Our approach is rooted in collaboration—learning together, navigating challenges collectively, & co-creating solutions that respond to real needs on the ground.
We are bringing together a group of organisations & individuals who are interested in contributing their time, experience, & insights toward strengthening India’s urban health ecosystem.
If you have experience or interest in any of the areas listed below, we would be excited to explore how we might work together.
Urban
Governance
Climate
Resilience
Urban Health System & Health
Governance
Policy &
Advocacy
Community Engagement
Research & Learning
Water &
Sanitation
Data & technology
Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning
Press