Health issues in India
When 240 million people took a dip in the mighty Ganga river during in Prayag between January 4th and March 14th this year, it should have been a clean exercise if officials were to be believed. With a whopping budget of Rs 4,200 crore allocated to organising the festival, the BJP government claimed that it […]
In Warangal, an initiative is underway to use better sanitation to curb the spread of malaria. On World Malaria Day, it is important to appraise such initiatives and look towards further solutions to build upon the progress made against the disease. Much of the conversation about sanitation tends to focus on the Government’s Swachh Bharat […]
“Modi deserves another chance as this country’s head,” a sanitation worker remarked in February. He was responding to a gesture that made headlines because of its unprecedented humility, wherein the Prime Minister washed the feet of five sanitation workers during a visit to the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela. The Prime Minister tweeted that he would “cherish” […]
It is not even summer season and great swathes of India’s land are suffering from drought, recently published data reveals. This is according to an IndiaSpend analysis of figures from the Drought Early Warning System (DEWS), which contains dire implications for an enormous number of Indians and a sizeable proportion of the country’s land. At […]
Worldwide, two billion people lack access to basic sanitation services at health facilities – leaving them vulnerable to the health risks that can arise because of unhygienic conditions. This is according to a new report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The report’s findings reveal how a quarter […]
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – widely honoured as the Father of the Nation – is often thought of in almost mythic terms: a figure of near universal reverence, internationally celebrated for his dogged struggle for Indian independence; his stand against colonialism; his embrace of pacifism; and denunciation of violence. In recent weeks, details have come to […]
Narendra Modi made tackling India’s sanitation woes a cornerstone of his 2014 election campaign. With the launch of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan after the BJP’s victory in the polls, it seemed as though the government was moving towards fulfilling its promises. Almost five years on, how has the Mission benefited India and to what extent […]
An incident at a temple in Karnataka has spotlighted one of India’s major public health issues when it comes to infectious disease: food poisoning. More than 130 worshippers at a temple in the Chamarajanagar district became sick after eating food offered during the service. Eleven people died and eight are in critical condition at the […]
On World Toilet Day, United Nations figures on open defecation and toilets across the world should ring alarm bells. Four billion people still lack access to basic sanitation facilities. Each day, nearly a thousand children are dying due to preventable water and sanitation-related diarrhoeal diseases. What’s the situation in India? “Four years since Swachh Bharat’s […]
An outbreak of food poisoning in a Mumbai school has brought the dangers of the condition to the public’s attention. The incident involved sixteen private school children and a teacher in Sahyadri Vidya Mandir in suburban Bhandup. They were were admitted to hospital in Mulund and placed under observation for 24 hours. This is not […]
