Few – if any – health issues are neglected without imperilling public health. Rabies in India, of course, is no exception. Today marked World Rabies Day, where we address a public health crisis that claims many lives yearly. As India.com noted in an article published today, rabies in the last five years caused more deaths […]
Opinion
Forced evictions: Driving India’s homelessness crisis
It is a travesty that people lose their health insurance during this pandemic. So it follows that it is a travesty that people lose their homes. However, forced evictions accomplish just this. The Housing & Land Rights Network tweeted as much, emphasising in their message that people from marginalised communities are affected disproportionately. “[Forced evictions] […]
Patient safety in a time of COVID-19
Patient safety is critical. When we are admitted to a medical facility, we expected to be cared for – not endangered. Yet it is an area where too often we fall short. Today marks World Patient Safety Day – an observance which, to quote the World Health Organization (WHO), serves “to enhance global understanding of […]
Suicide prevention: Why it’s critical
The spectrum of mental health disorders is diverse, but what is uniform among them is that they are noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Suicide, tragically, is an outcome of a number of mental health disorders. This is why suicide prevention is so important. “The Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health (NMH) Cluster is concerned with the rapid rise […]
Women’s equality: The need of the hour
We are all equal. It is a message children are or, at the very least, ought to be taught from the earliest age. The fault line of gender is an area where humanity consistently has fallen short as it pertains to equality. As it is with race, with religion, with sexual orientation, and so many […]
Journalism in a pandemic: Ajoy Bose talks to HII
Journalism has changed. COVID-19 means reporters everywhere are now, in effect, health journalists by necessity. Communicating the right information about the global pandemic may be an onerous task. It is, nonetheless, a vital one. With the health beat having been largely neglected and sidelined for so long, it is now firmly at the centre of […]
Lightning strikes: An underreported crisis
A popular adage, if not cliché, is that lightning never strikes in the same place twice. However, in India, lightning strikes are increasing. Experts pinpoint climate change as the cause. An IndiaSpend analysis published earlier this week highlighted the issue. The report notes that the last four months alone have seen more than 200 deaths […]
Russia’s coronavirus vaccine: The controversy, explained
The world has yearned for a vaccine against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 since the pandemic began. However the recent announcement of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine has been met with scepticism – justly or unjustly. COVID-19 – the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), or simply coronavirus – has disrupted virtually […]
Francois Baird talks business and COVID-19: Video
Francois Baird, chairman and co-founder of Baird’s CMC, talks to Health Issues India editor Kerean Watts about how COVID-19 has impacted businesses. We discuss how the pandemic has changed our understanding of the workplace; how we consider healthy and safe working environments; and the lasting effects of the pandemic’s disruption to the global economy and […]
Corona warriors: How much do we really appreciate them?
The pandemic has seen an outpouring of support for India’s frontline health workers – its ‘corona warriors’. This is arguably best-exemplified by March’s Janata Curfew, which saw Indians self-quarantining across the nation ringing bells and applauding in praise of healthcare staff. But how much does India truly appreciate its ‘corona warriors’? There is no shortage […]