Coming as it does at a time when COVID-19 resolutely refuses to pack up and go away, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow this November will likely discuss not only international climate action but the impact of climate on health issues as well. As the Lancet Countdown 2020 Report explained, no continent, country, or community is immune from […]
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Global health news: The latest
It’s going to take years for the world to come to grips with the impact of COVID-19. Moving slightly away from the immediate effect of the disease, there are numerous medical issues that have arisen during the pandemic. Shortages in hospital facilities and medical personnel are most prominent among them. This has, in turn, led […]
Leaded fuel a thing of the past
The world has reached “a milestone of multiculturalism”, the United Nations announced this week, as Algeria became the final country to cease offering leaded fuel to drivers. The news has been hailed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who said “lead in fuel has run out of gas – thanks to the cooperation of governments in […]
A startling surge in hypertension
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is growing at an alarming rate worldwide according to recent data published in The Lancet. The research – accessible here – found that the number of individuals living with hypertension doubled in the last three decades. The world’s hypertensive population now exceeds 1.2 billion, with researchers sounding the alarm on […]
Land degradation a continuing crisis
In spite of assurances from the Prime Minister, India’s issue with land degradation seems to only continue to worsen. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), land degradation affects approximately 29.7 percent of the country’s total geographical area. During the 2018-19 period, an estimated 97.85 million hectares of India’s land underwent degradation per the […]
Northeast India: The country’s cancer capital?
A government report suggests northeast India is emerging as leading India’s number of new cancer cases. “Profile of Cancer and Related Health Indicators in the North East Region of India”, a joint report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), found the region accounts […]
Global health today: Tedros, COVID in Indonesia, and a million more COVID cases by 2022?
This is the first in a series of newsletters, offering the expert insight of Lalita Panicker – consulting editor, views, Hindustan Times, New Delhi – into some of the most pressing health issues of the day. Another term for Tedros? To use a well-worn cliché, the Director-General (DG) of the World Health Organization (WHO) is […]
Air quality standards to be rethought next year
India is to review its air quality standards next year, addressing an environmental and public health issue of significant concern. New national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) are likely, reports indicate. Discussions are said to be considering ultra-fine particulate matter (PM0.1), smaller than fine particulate matter or PM 2.5 which denotes particular matter of 2.5 […]
Vaccine drive crosses 55 crore, unused doses remain
According to a provisional report, India’s vaccine drive surpassed the milestone of administering 55 crore and set a record in the last 24 hours. However, many vaccine doses provided to states and union territories remain unused. The past 24 hours saw 88.13 lakh doses administered, taking the cumulative number of shots in arms to 554,730,609 […]
100 million more? Stark warning on fresh COVID-19 cases
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), issued a frank and alarming warning about the potential for fresh COVID-19 cases to exceed 100 million by early 2022 – taking the total caseload to 300 million and counting. His warning came just a week after the global case count surpassed 200 million, […]