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Oxytocin ban: High court seeks answers from the Centre

Will the government take a u-turn on its decision to revoke ban on hormone drug oxytocin or will the private companies be allowed to produce the life saving drug? The Delhi High Court is seeking answers from the Centre over legal challenges filed against its controversial ban on the hormone drug oxytocin. The Centre seems …

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Modicare begins on September 25th. Here’s what we know so far.

The BJP government’s large-scale health insurance initiative was rolled out in some states today, to coincide with Independence Day celebrations across the country. Though some anticipated a full-scale launch of the programme, the scheme was not launched nationwide but began a gradual rollout in select states. Full rollout of the scheme is expected on September …

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What’s the hepatitis burden in India?

Less than one tenth of people infected with hepatitis are aware of it – and fewer than a tenth of those who are aware receive the necessary treatment. These were the grim figures issued by Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh ahead of World Hepatitis Day this year. Dr Singh – the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional …

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Fewer Indians living with HIV but still miles to go

Since the start of the decade, India has witnessed significant reductions in its HIV/AIDS burden. New HIV infections fell from 120,000 in 2010 to 88,000 in 2017; AIDS-related deaths decreased from 160,000 to 90,000; and there were 2.1 million people living with HIV in India 2017, compared to 2.3 million in 2010. The findings were …

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India’s health check: It’s bad news

In August 2016, a tribal man in Odisha walked ten kilometres from the hospital where his wife died. He carried her body with him – in the presence, no less, of his twelve-year-old daughter. He was forced to do so because the state hospital could not provide an ambulance.  The incident served as a graphic …

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An environmental health crisis: One in ten asthma patients gasp for breath in India

India holds between fifteen and twenty million asthma sufferers. Recent evidence suggests one in ten asthma patients reside in India. This can be seen as indicative of a wider crisis surrounding environmental health in India.  Asthma is the most common chronic condition among children worldwide. The cost of managing the condition is thought to exceed tuberculosis …

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India not taking advantage of its own vaccines?

India is a leading producer of vaccines. It has enjoyed numerous vaccination campaign successes in the past. Despite this, around 60,000 Indian children under five die of vaccine-preventable diseases every year. India has demonstrated its capacity for successful vaccination campaigns in the past. On March 27, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared India polio-free. …

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Time for India to deliver on NCDs

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a stark warning about the threat of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). India should take note. “NCDs and mental disorders currently pose one of the biggest threats to health and development globally,” a WHO high-level independent commission on NCDs said in their report released on Friday, June 1. It added, …

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The inequality of improvement: What the HAQ Index tells India

Access to healthcare has improved in India since 1990 – but not enough. Meanwhile, inequality persists. The country takes the 145th place out of 195 countries on the Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) Index. This measures the accessibility and quality of healthcare in countries by drawing on a plethora of data, including the 2016 Global …

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The high death toll of gender discrimination

Gender discrimination and missing women The price of gender discrimination in India is the lives of almost 240,000 girls under five every year.  Much attention is given in India to the issue of female foeticide. Sex-selective abortions are considered the major driver of India’s skewed sex ratio at birth (SRB) and its resultant 63 million …

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