“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 […]
sanitation
Modi launches single-use plastic campaign
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has again appealed for India to end the use of single-use plastic for the good of the environment. Attending an event in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Modi joined a group of trash collectors and sorted through waste with them, separating plastic from other refuse. The day saw the launch of a ‘Swachata […]
Death in the sewers: Manual scavenging continues to kill
In the first six months of 2019, at least fifty people died because of manual scavenging – in just eight states. This is according to data collected from the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) from Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. The fatalities offer a snapshot of a much […]
Delhi cracks down on biomedical waste
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has ordered the closure of 32 facilities over improper disposal of biomedical waste – highlighting a major pollution and sanitation issue affecting India. Earlier this year, it was reported that hospitals in Delhi were behind schedule in adhering to the Union Environment Ministry’s guidelines concerning proper management of biomedical […]
A Mumbai beer plant brewing a public health issue?
United Breweries is India’s biggest producer of beer – but an inspection has found stunning sanitation lapses. The brewing giant, which claims to account for more than fifty percent of beer production in India and saw its revenue grow by 21 percent in the 2018 financial year, was flagged on several concerning grounds by the […]
Menstrual cups: A viable alternative?
Menstrual cups have the potential to be a safe, effective, and significantly more environmentally friendly way for girls and women to manage their menstrual health, a study released today has found. Analysing data from 43 studies involving 3,319 participants, covering a mixture of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries, the study found that […]
In Gurugram, poor sanitation makes residents’ lives a misery
Gurugram officials are on notice from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to act on the pollution of water. “Unscientific discharge of sewage into open water bodies [is] adversely affecting groundwater and recipient waterbodies at Ansal Esencia, Sector 67 area of Gurugram,” the NGT said in an order to the Haryana State Pollution Control Board and […]
Water supply crisis hits Chennai’s hospitals
Chennai’s crippled water supply is affecting everyday life in a multitude of ways. Hospitals are no exception to the scourge. The depletion of groundwater and borewell reserves have forced hospitals in the city to foot ever-bigger bills to avail water. To cope, some hospitals have even increased the prices of operations. “A few days ago, […]
Medical waste: A pollution crisis no-one talks about
Because of pollution, 350 hospitals and clinics in Goa face closure. This is not because of air pollution, however. It is because of a different pollutant entirely: medical waste. The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has issued show cause notices to the facilities in question because of their failure to “[apply] for authorisation and […]
Modi 2.0.: Health agenda and expectations
Riding on a saffron surge and charisma of Narendra Modi, the BJP-led NDA government is back with an overwhelming mandate and a full majority in the Lok Sabha, for the second time. The landslide victory not only ensured Modi government to achieve a super-size number of 350 out of 542 seats in the lower house […]