Progress in building sustainable primary healthcare through DSS.
Since the beginning of 2026, the DSS health team has made significant progress in building up primary healthcare at the main clinic in Moila Depot and at the first DSS satellite clinic in Indira Pally.
An important milestone was the recruitment of three experienced doctors who are committed to caring for disadvantaged people. Since December 2025, Dr Sushmita has been running the clinics in Indira Pally, where the outreach team has registered almost 200 patients and carried out regular blood pressure and diabetes screenings. At the main clinic, Dr Mausumi and Dr Suchismita hold consultations twice a week and have registered more than 400 patients.
Thanks to accessible, community-based healthcare, residents can quickly get medical help close to home, which improves their overall health.
DSS has also partnered with a laboratory to provide blood tests, ECGs, X-rays and ultrasound scans, which has considerably improved diagnosis and treatment.
Another important step was the licensing and opening of DSS’s own pharmacy, which stocks essential medicines based on a carefully compiled formulary. At the same time, DSS is introducing a digital patient records system that improves patient management, performance monitoring and data-based decision-making.
Despite ongoing construction work at the clinic sites, consultations and outreach work continued without interruption. The outreach team led by Sourav Sarkar has held health education sessions on hygiene and women’s health and run focus group discussions to better understand the community’s needs and priorities.
Staff development remains a priority: monthly mandatory training led by the medical team and the senior pharmacist ensures high standards of care.
DSS also continues to support a group of seriously ill patients who need ongoing treatment. This includes providing medicines and clinical monitoring for 40 patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), so that treatment, tests and the monitoring of high-risk medicines meet clinical requirements.
These developments are important steps towards securing access to good primary healthcare for underserved communities and building a sustainable, patient-centred health service.
Project areas: Moila Depot, Indira Pally
Direct beneficiaries: 600
Indirect beneficiaries: 3,000 family members from vulnerable communities
Budget: CHF 8,000, foundation’s share 50%