This year, on August 8, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) celebrates its fiftieth anniversary. In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the World Economic Forum convenes a meeting of ASEAN countries, allowing senior decision-makers from a range of sectors to “facilitate greater collaboration between industry, government and civil society, and to work on shaping the brightest […]
Opinion
India’s abortion law: time for change?
Abortion is a divisive issue in India: socially, legally, morally and religiously. A number of incidents in recent years have sparked debate over whether or not it is time to revise the country’s abortion laws. In India, the 1971 Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act says “a pregnancy may be terminated…[if an] opinion is formed, in […]
Prohibition: An ineffective policy?
Gujarat’s long-standing policy of alcohol prohibition has taken a knock from the state’s high court. Yet even as justices call prohibition’s effectiveness into question, chief ministers of other states are not being deterred from pursuing similar policies. Dry states India’s constitution says “the State shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption…of intoxicating drinks […]
Differences between Korean and Indian medical sectors
Two Indian doctors, Dr Anjali Chandra and Dr Bipin Solanki have had their experiences in a South Korean hospital documented by Korea Biomedical Business Review (KBMBR). The married couple spent three months on a fellowship programme at the Ewha Mokdong Hospital in Seoul. Although India has a medical system as sophisticated as that in South […]
Socio-cultural acceptance of healthcare
The public perception of medication and treatment is a major obstacle to improving healthcare in India, says Monica Lakhanpaul (a leading professor of integrated community child health). India is a country deeply rooted in tradition. This often means that many in the population are not eager to accept modern technological or medical intervention, she says. […]
A little more conversation: New youth scheme a step forward for public health
A new youth outreach programme is winning praise for challenging social norms in India from the bottom up. By addressing social issues such as safe sex, gender equality, women’s issues, and LGBT rights, it represents a step forward for public health in India. “A paradigm shift” The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is distributing “an instruction […]
The Lancet continues criticism of India’s health policy
Recent editions of health journal The Lancet have continued what has amounted to a long standing feud with the Modi administration. Continued criticisms have been made regarding India’s health policies, low spending on healthcare and lack of publications by a majority of India’s research institutions. An editorial released on January 14, 2017 is overwhelmingly critical. […]
Health budget: Making progress or playing it safe?
The Modi government’s Union Budget for the fiscal year 2017-18 was presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 1. Jaitley announced a number of steps to address the plentiful problems facing India’s healthcare system. However, critics said that there were only paltry increases in funding following a year of severe cuts – a “nominal” […]
Malnutrition in Maharashtra: An intimate crisis
“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread”, Mahatma Gandhi said. Nearly seventy years after his death, his words are as apposite as they ever were. A national and regional tragedy The world is home to 795 million undernourished people. This equates roughly […]
Rape in India and the shame of a nation
A 23-year-old woman – dubbed ‘Nirbayha’ by the press – was beaten and raped onboard a bus in New Delhi by a gang of men. The attack left her in critical condition, and Nirbhaya succumbed to her injuries in hospital two weeks later. The incident made international headlines, highlighting what The Independent called a rape […]