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Mapping of Urban Health Facilities in the Evolving City of Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

Author(s): Dantas, Anandi

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Published Year: 2010

Abstract: Maharashtra is the second most urbanized state in India. It had an urban population comprising 42.4 percent of the total state population in 2001. Between 1991-2001 population growth rate of cities at the second tier level was faster than for the top level cities of Mumbai and Pune. The objective of the research was to examine if the growth in health facilities within the city has kept pace with growth of population. The methodology used was geographic information, using secondary data. The changes in growth are shown through a series of maps. Aurangabad is the sixth largest city in Maharashtra outside the Mumbai-Pune urban agglomerations. Population of Aurangabad grew by 52.34% between1991-2001. An analysis of geographical locations and growth of public and registered private hospitals from 1991 to 2010 found that the ratio of health facility to population have improved through the years. Ratios for hospitals to population in Aurangabad was 1: 4646 in 2001, public facilities being 1: 2,18,328 and registered private hospitals 1: 4746. Three areas of concentration of registered private hospitals were found at the intra-city level. The concentrations were market induced and their locations were also affected by geographical accessibility criterion. There has been a clustering of public and private health facilities near the city centre the last twenty years. Less geographical access to both public and private health facilities were found for the population of the peripheral areas of the city. The urban rich were found to have been served better than the urban poor in Aurangabad as most of private hospitals were found to be concentrated in or close to higher income residences. The study has highlighted the need for an urban norm for location of Urban Health Post which primarily serve the urban poor and a gaping need for a geographic norm for location of private hospitals for the country.

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