Delhi is still leading Indian cities in the number of road accident deaths, recording 106 more such fatalities in 2018 compared to 2017. Uttar Pradesh, meanwhile, leads the states. Fortunately, the same was not true of some other populous cities. Chennai, Kolkata, and Maharashtra all witnessed declines in their road accident deaths in 2018 compared […]
Andhra Pradesh
COPD in Telangana: Deadly and growing
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of India’s biggest killers and Telangana feels its strain acutely. In 2016, there were 19,000 deaths from COPD in Telangana out of 8.4 lakh deaths nationwide. Since then, the death toll has increased. In 2018, COPD claimed almost one million lives and accounted for thirteen percent of all […]
YSR Kanti Velugu: Eye care boon in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh commemorated World Sight Day with the launch of a Rs 560.88 crore scheme providing free eye care. One in five Indians miss out on eye health checkups, making such initiatives a boon to the citizens’ sight. Chief Minister Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy launched the initiative, entitled ‘YSR Kanti Velugu’, at the Anantapuram Junior […]
Fertility experts call for IVF age limit
Fertility experts have called for age restrictions to be placed on who can access in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in India. A law should be drawn up at the central level, the Indian Fertility Society (IFS) has said, which would prevent cases like that of 74-year-old Mangayamma Yaramati. She delivered twin daughters in Andhra Pradesh at a […]
IVF at 74: A medical miracle or breach of ethics?
Last week, 74-year-old Mangayamma Yaramati made history after giving birth to twins following treatment with in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) – potentially becoming the world’s oldest birth mother. However, the news has been controversial, with fertility experts in India expressing criticism that the procedure was performed on a woman at such an advanced age. Mangayamma (identified by […]
India’s best states for child welfare
Kerala is the best-performing state in India when it comes to child welfare, whilst Madhya Pradesh is the worst. This is according to the Child Well-being Index, a joint report by World Vision India and IFMR LEAD, unveiled yesterday Kerala secured the top spot with an overall score of 0.76, followed by Tamil Nadu and […]
Andhra Pradesh gives ASHAs a boon
Since assuming the post of Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh following this year’s Legislative Assembly election in the state, Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy has made healthcare a priority. One action he has taken is a hike in the wages of the state’s community health workers. Accredited social health activists (ASHAs) staff India’s healthcare system in […]
Vardhan reaches out to holdout states on Ayushman Bharat
The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan, has reached out to the states where the Centre’s flagship healthcare scheme has yet to be implemented, exhorting them to do so. Vardhan has made strengthening the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), popularly known as ‘Ayushman Bharat’, a top priority during his second […]
World Environment Day highlights a health crisis
World Environment Day is observed annually on June 5th to commemorate the importance of conserving our environment from the many threats it faces. For India, World Environment Day offers a valuable opportunity to recognise one of the major issues confronting the nation: its poor environmental health, ranked as the worst in the world in the […]
Ayushman Bharat: The coming expansion
The BJP’s agenda, as outlined in its manifesto for this year’s Lok Sabha polls, was vindicated with a sweeping electoral victory – and the Prime Minister did not exclude the subject of health or his flagship Ayushman Bharat from his victory speech after the results were declared. “The victory, he said, was not his, but […]