Six-day free mega health camp brings doctors from across India to Ghazipur, serving over 35,200 patients and completing 346 surgeries

A six-day free mega health camp in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, has delivered free healthcare to over 35,200 patients, carried out 35,828 laboratory tests and completed 346 surgeries. Held under Seva Sankalp Abhiyan 2026 from 26 September to 1 October, the camp was aimed at improving access to specialist healthcare in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The organisers have described it as the largest health camp held in Uttar Pradesh in 2026.

A six-day free mega health camp in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, has delivered free healthcare to over 35,200 patients, carried out 35,828 laboratory tests and completed 346 surgeries. Held under Seva Sankalp Abhiyan 2026 from 26 September to 1 October, the camp was aimed at improving access to specialist healthcare in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The organisers have described it as the largest health camp held in Uttar Pradesh in 2026. For thousands of people in rural Ghazipur, seeing a specialist has usually meant travelling to Varanasi, Lucknow or further. For six days, the camp turned this around by taking healthcare to patients instead of making patients travel to healthcare. Consultations, diagnostics, specialist treatment and surgeries were brought together at one place, including complex procedures that would normally require patients to leave the district. This speaks to a challenge of national importance: making sure that quality specialist care does not remain limited to big cities.

A team of 498 doctors and health workers took part, including specialists associated with AIIMS New Delhi, Jaslok Hospital Mumbai, Apollo Hospital Delhi and Heritage Hospital Varanasi. Surgeons who travelled from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Punjab and Karnataka worked alongside doctors from the local medical college. The medical team included faculty and consultants, residents, interns, nurses, paramedics and pharmacists. The camp was inaugurated on 26 September by Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak. OPD services ran from 26 to 28 September, followed by surgeries from 28 September to 1 October, held with key support from Rotary International.

Patients could access 15 specialist services, including general medicine, cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, gynaecology, paediatrics, dermatology, psychiatry, urology, ENT, endocrinology and plastic surgery. The figures show where the need was greatest. General medicine, orthopaedics, ophthalmology and neurology together saw 21,120 patients, or 60 per cent of the total OPD footfall, while the other 11 speciality OPDs treated another 14,080 patients. Of the 346 surgeries performed free of cost, 140 were eye surgeries and 206 were other procedures. These included 22 major complex cases in orthopaedics, general surgery and plastic surgery.

More than 350 volunteers, known as “Ghazipur ke Swasth Yoddha” (Ghazipur’s health warriors), supported the effort by helping patients with registration, finding their way around the venue and care. Abhinav Sinha, under whose leadership the camp was organised, said the objective was to make sure quality healthcare reached people in rural and remote areas without them having to travel long distances. He thanked the doctors, health workers, volunteers and local administration for their support. Speaking about the initiative, he said, “Our effort is not to keep the health camp limited to check-ups and consultations. Our goal is that patients in need receive the necessary treatment after specialist consultation and access to surgical care where required. If specialist health services reach people in their own region, it can bring great relief to thousands of families.”

The organisers said the Ghazipur model could be replicated elsewhere in the state. By linking OPD consultation, diagnostic tests and surgical treatment in one continuous chain of care, Seva Sankalp Abhiyan 2026 has shown how leading national institutions, doctors from several states, local medical teams and volunteers can work together to bring specialist healthcare to the districts that need it most. (ANI)