Health issues in India
Cause for concern in Delhi Worldwide, gallbladder cancer is relatively uncommon. In Delhi, however, it’s on the rise. There are eleven cases of gallbladder cancer for every one lakh Delhiites, researchers from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) estimate. This incidence may seem low. However, when one considers that the National Capital Region […]
Leprosy will be eradicated from India in 2018, Union Health Minister J. P. Nadda announced earlier this year. Could discrimination threaten achievement of this goal? Archaic laws dating to 1898 regarding the treatment of those suffering from leprosy were in effect until 2016. After this a bill was passed seeking to eradicate social stigma surrounding […]
Indian scientists at the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) may be fast approaching a cure for leptospirosis. Also known as Weil’s disease, leptospirosis was responsible for over one million infections in 2015. Indian scientists working on the vaccine, however, believe almost all of these cases could have been preventable. Leptospirosis is typically the name given […]
High expectations abound for the rollout of the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) — also known as Ayushman Bharat or Modicare. As the world’s largest government-funded health programme, the project is nothing if not ambitious. However, will it be the answer to India’s ailing health system? India has numerous health concerns putting strain on the […]
The Union Cabinet has approved a controversial bill that would allow law enforcement agencies to collect DNA samples in order to create “DNA profiles”. These would then be used in forensic-criminal investigations and missing person searches. The bill sparked vocal criticism during its formulation. Much of this opposition revolved around privacy disputes in regards to […]
It is undoubtedly good news that India’s heatwave season this year did not bring the hundreds of deaths normally associated with the period. However, there is a caveat to this success. India’s climate is not becoming any less inclement, nor is it likely to in future. In fact, it’s going to get much worse. From […]
Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is one of the main health risks facing new mothers in India. Oxytocin is considered effective in preventing it, but its misuse in other sectors led to a ban being imposed by the Centre. The Centre has been encouraged to scrap its controversial ban on private sector sales of Oxytocin by the […]
Diphtheria levels in India are at a thirty year high. Does this point towards failings in India’s vaccination efforts against the disease? Diphtheria is a potentially fatal infection of the respiratory tract, caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium diphtheriae. It is typically seen among children or those over the age of 25. However, India is seeing […]
India has the highest rate of head injury in the world. In India, over 100,000 lives are lost every year with over one million people suffering serious head injuries. One in six individuals in India who suffer brain trauma die. This is a startling figure compared to the figure of one out of every 200 […]
Almost 35,000 lives could be saved by an Indian government vaccination drive targeting one of the country’s biggest killers of children under five: pneumonia. Plans from the Centre are currently in place for a nationwide rollout of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV). This plan could significantly reduce the incidence of diseases such as pneumonia, which current estimates […]
