When it comes to health issues, it is unsurprising the pandemic of COVID-19 dominates the conversation. Yet, as we appraise the gravity of COVID-19, it is important to remember that the world grapples with a plethora of public health concerns. Among them is measles – and it is deeply concerning that the line of defence […]
child mortality
Childhood cancer: The world needs to invest in the fight
By 2050, the world is expected to register 13.7 million new cases of childhood cancer – and without scaling up investments, cancer will kill 11.1 million children. These are the findings of a landmark report released earlier this week by the Lancet Oncology Commission, a report bringing together the insights of 44 leading experts from […]
Kota: Tragedy strikes children in Rajasthan hospital
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan is taking cognisance of a tragedy in a hospital in the Rajasthan city of Kota, with more than 100 children dying in the span of a single month in a single hospital. The Union Minister has written to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, concerning the government-run JK Lon Hospital […]
Pneumonia deaths: Fourteen children lost every hour
The world’s ‘forgotten epidemic’ of pneumonia is resulting in fourteen pneumonia deaths among children under five every hour in India. In 2018, 127,000 children succumbed to pneumonia in India, according to a joint report of the Every Breath Counts Coalition, Save the Children, and UNICEF released earlier this month entitled ‘Fighting for Breath in India: […]
World Pneumonia Day: A child health scourge
Today marked World Pneumonia Day, which came with a chilling reminder from UNICEF: every day, the disease kills a child every 39 seconds. “Every day, nearly 2,200 children under the age of five die from pneumonia, a curable and mostly preventable disease,” commented UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore. 800,000 children lose their lives to the […]
Child and maternal mortality: India still a leader
“Thirty years ago, the world made a commitment to protect and fulfil children’s rights as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Among the most fundamental of these rights is the right of every child to survive.” So reads the introduction of the latest Levels and Trends in Child Mortality, a joint […]
Malnutrition: Responsible for two-thirds of child deaths
Malnutrition was responsible for almost seventy percent of child deaths in India in 2017, a recent review of data has revealed. Every state in India lost more lives of children under five to malnutrition than to any other cause, the review revealed, with 68.2 percent of total child deaths in the country caused by malnourishment. […]
Health benefits of breastfeeding: Health Ministry to raise awareness
World Breastfeeding Week may be over for the rest of the world, but the Union Health Ministry has announced plans to make it a monthly fixture in India to raise awareness of the health benefits of breastfeeding. During an event last week, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan announced that a breastfeeding awareness week will […]
Rotavirus infections: Multiple states launch vaccination drives
Multiple states have launched vaccination drives against rotavirus infections, a significant driver of child mortality in India. Rotavirus infections are the leading cause of severe diarrhoeal disease worldwide. Diarrhoeal disease is the second most common cause of death of children under five years old and represents the most common cause of infectious disease outbreaks in […]
Progress on health goals deemed dismal by UN
India’s progress in achieving health goals has been deemed “dismal” by the 2018 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). India has made huge strides towards some health goals within the last few decades. The eradication of polio is perhaps the most notable of India’s health success stories. However, […]