India’s First Transgender Clinic Shut Following USAID Fund Freeze (image:facebook.com/mitrclinic.hyderabad)

Hyderabad: Mitr Clinic, India’s first transgender healthcare centre in Hyderabad has ceased operations following an order from the U.S. President Donald Trump. The shut down came following Trump’s decision to lay down a 90-day freeze on all US foreign assistance, including more than $40 billion assigned for international projects through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The sudden discontinuation in the funding had impacted several projects. The Hyderabad clinic operated under Project ACCLERATE was one among them. The project ran with the support of USAID and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Mitr Clinic intended to provide comprehensive healthcare services to the transgender community.

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Launched on January 20, 2021, Mitr Clinic operated as a one-stop destination, providing free services like general health consultations, HIV counselling and screening, HIV/STI treatment, mental health support, gender affirmation services, and assistance accessing legal and social protection schemes. The clinic is located in Narayanguda. Following positive response it received regarding accessible healthcare, clinics were opened in Pune and Thane.

A free transgender clinic which opened at Hyderabad’s Osmania General Hospital the same year, and the State government opened 33 transgender clinics across Telangana by the name of Maithri Clinics.

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However, ahead of its 4th anniversary, the clinic had to cease its functioning. About its suspension of operations, Rachana, a trans health expert told The Hindu: “We were informed that the U.S. President had announced a halt to our clinic’s funding, and since then, the clinic has been shut.”

The Hyderabad clinic employed seven transgender individuals and provided services to 150–200 LGBTQIA+ members every month as of January 2025, the Hindu reports. The closure has not only deprived transgender community of essential healthcare services, but also left a team of members unemployed.

(Inputs from the Hindu)