Many – if not most – public health challenges have been sidelined in the global discourse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), the World Health Organization (WHO) warns, are a case in point. COVID-19 – the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), commonly referred to simply as the coronavirus – […]
access to healthcare
Healthcare infrastructure to get an update in Karnataka
The Karnataka government is seeking to improve healthcare infrastructure in the state, its Minister for Medical Education Dr K. Sudhakar has announced. The Minister visited the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, the PKTB Sanatorium and the Cheluvamba Hospital for Women and Children over the weekend, conducting infrastructure inspections at the sites. He […]
Cancer: One in ten Indians, one in fifteen lives
Cancer will affect one in ten Indians in their lifetime. One in fifteen Indians will lose their lives to the disease. These are the concerning findings of the latest edition of the World Cancer Report, published earlier this week by the World Health Organization (WHO). Among the key takeaways of the report is how unevenly […]
Cervical cancer elimination: A 100-year roadmap
Cervical cancer as a threat, in the words of the World Health Organization (WHO), “is one of the greatest today to women’s health.” As a public health priority, cervical cancer elimination is much-needed – and research published last week in The Lancet outlines the contours of the roadmap towards this end over the next 100 […]
World Cancer Day 2020: India’s growing crisis
Reports surfaced last week from the Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in Rohtak, Haryana of a rising number of cancer cases being admitted through its doors. Such news encapsulates much about what we know about the cancer burden in India, one which is rising rapidly. World Cancer Day, 2020 […]
Union Budget: The main takeaways for health
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented India’s 2020 Union Budget over the weekend, her second. Whilst it has won praise from Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, some in the healthcare sector have expressed dissatisfaction. How much did the Union Budget allocate the health sector? Among the main takeaways of the 2020 Union Budget for […]
Union ministries join hands on Ayushman Bharat
Union ministries have heeded the call from the Union Cabinet to support the Government’s flagship health initiative Ayushman Bharat. More than 200 hospitals under the purview of different Union ministries at the central level have been empanelled under the scheme, according to reports. In December, the Union Cabinet wrote to the National Health Authority and […]
NHRC seeks answers on high-cost treatment and Ayushman Bharat
The Prime Minister and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare praised the Government’s flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat in the last days of December. However, concerns have been raised about the scheme by the National Human Rights Council (NHRC) – in particular over complaints that Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries are struggling to access […]
Cancer infrastructure needs an upgrade
Cancer is one of the leading threats to public health in India. An estimated 2.25 million people live with the disease in the country, with more than 1.15 million new cases registered and an estimated 784,821 deaths recorded last year. Despite this, the country’s cancer infrastructure is sorely lacking – as phrased by a parliamentary […]
Private practice warning for Mumbai doctors and hospitals
Doctors and hospitals could face action if government-employed medicos participate in private practice during the office hours of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). More than eighty percent of doctors and seventy percent of nurses and midwives are employed by the private sector in India. Government doctors should not participate in private practice between the hours […]