India’s food production sector has been banned from using the antibiotic colistin, over concerns about its misuse potentially fuelling drug resistance. According to a 2009 study, “colistin is…being used increasingly as a ‘last-line’ therapy to treat infections caused by [multi-drug-resistant] Gram-negative bacteria, when essentially no other options are available.” Yet concerns are growing that, in […]
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Frontline malaria drugs: Effective for how long?
Drug resistance in diseases such as malaria looms as one of the greatest threats to public health of the modern age – frustrating progress against a range of infectious diseases. In India, as with many other nations, infectious diseases have been supplanted by noncommunicable conditions as the country’s most common causes of illness and death. […]
The right to an informed choice: Dr Supriya Garikipati on how India can make menstrual health available for its girls and women
When it comes to menstrual health, India’s girls and women face extreme challenges ranging from lack of accessibility to menstrual hygiene products to stigma. In particular, there is the lack of ability to exercise their right to an informed choice. Health Issues India talks to expert Dr Supriya Garikipati about the situation surrounding menstrual health […]
Malaria and TB metrics highlighted by UN
How does India fare in progress against malaria and tuberculosis (TB)? Poorly, according to the United Nations (UN). India’s progress in achieving health goals was deemed “dismal” by the 2018 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It scored the worst among the four Asian nations in the middle-income […]
National Roundtable Discussion on Rare Diseases Policy – Call to Action
Rare diseases are diseases with a low prevalence and encompass a spectrum of over 7000 diseases, that together could amount to a significant absolute number in the population of any country. India shares a significant proportion of rare diseases, with estimates of over 70 million people with rare genetic disorders. However, these estimates are based […]
A Mumbai beer plant brewing a public health issue?
United Breweries is India’s biggest producer of beer – but an inspection has found stunning sanitation lapses. The brewing giant, which claims to account for more than fifty percent of beer production in India and saw its revenue grow by 21 percent in the 2018 financial year, was flagged on several concerning grounds by the […]
Government to expand the number of health and wellness centres
![A primary health centre in Thuravoor, Kerala. Strengthening India's primary healthcare infrastructure through HWCS is a core of Ayushman Bharat. (Image credit: Ranjithsiji [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons)](https://i1.wp.com/www.healthissuesindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/800px-Thuravoor_Primary_Health_Center_Main_Building.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 "Healthcare equipment: The greatest disparity?")
Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) – better known as Ayushman Bharat – the Centre is planning to expand the number of health and wellness centres (HWCs) in the country. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan told Rajya Sabha MPs that 19,576 HWCs were currently operational across the country. By the end of […]
Surgeon’s gowns and the spread of C. diff
The reality of hospital-acquired infections is one that is difficult to ignore. New research has spotlighted one particular infection to which hospital visits can expose people. This time, alarm bells are being sounded about Clostridium difficile (also known as C. diff), a bacterium linked to stomach ailments such as diarrhoeal disease and colitis which can […]
Commercial surrogacy crackdown planned by the Government
The Centre has introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to ban commercial surrogacy – part of an ongoing effort to crack down on the practise, with the goal of stopping women being exploited. The bill, if passed, would severely restrict opportunities for surrogacy. Couples, of women aged between 23 and fifty and men aged […]
Menstrual cups: A viable alternative?
Menstrual cups have the potential to be a safe, effective, and significantly more environmentally friendly way for girls and women to manage their menstrual health, a study released today has found. Analysing data from 43 studies involving 3,319 participants, covering a mixture of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries, the study found that […]