Health issues in India
The gutkha scam has been making headlines in Tamil Nadu, where senior officials including the health minister have been implicated in a multi-crore corruption scandal involving bribes paid by chewing tobacco companies. Officials stand accused of accepting bribes paid by manufacturers of gutkha, a chewing tobacco mixture which has been banned in Tamil Nadu since […]
Is lack of pesticide awareness killing our farmers? Vijay Sardar – a resident of Dahigaon in the Akola district of the state – was admitted to Government Medical College (GMC) in Akola on August 7th with contact pesticide poisoning. He died five days later, aged 32. As of August 17th, there have been an additional […]
Tamil Nadu film star Vijay has found himself in a spot of legal bother over tobacco. The 44-year-old actor tweeted a promo for his upcoming action thriller Sarkar earlier this year. The poster depicted him smoking a cigarette, a flaming lighter in hand. The promo drew the ire of Tamil Nadu health officials. The Public […]
Cosmetic surgery is being offered free of charge in a government-run clinic in Tamil Nadu. Procedures offered include breast alterations, cleft lip repairs and hand transplants. The offer of breast surgery has been the focus of much of the media coverage surrounding the policy. The clinic already offers free reconstructive surgery for cancer survivors, but […]
In response to outbreaks of dengue fever in Tamil Nadu, the state government has distributed — free of charge — a herbal concoction they claim not only cures the disease, but also prevents it. Over 10,000 cases of Dengue have been reported in Tamil Nadu since January, with around 35 resultant deaths due to the […]
‘Nations Within a Nation’ A groundbreaking new study published today in The Lancet spotlights a major concern about healthcare in India: the vast disparities between its states. ‘Nations Within a Nation’, touted as ‘the first comprehensive analysis of health in India’, shows that the ‘substantial gains in healthcare’ made by India in recent years have […]
Fears that the Zika virus could continue to spread in India are increasing. A fourth case of the virus has been detected in the state of Tamil Nadu. What’s noteworthy – and perhaps concerning – about the case is that the infected individual was uncovered not by national surveillance programmes, but by a Manipal University […]
Solar power could be the answer to the energy woes of India’s health centres. A new scheme being piloted in the states of Haryana, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu is exploring solar power as the primary means of powering India’s health centres. It will be a joint effort between the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) […]
Caesarean sections are on the rise in India, provoking concerns that doctors are performing the procedure excessively. The rate of caesarean sections in India has risen sixfold in the past twenty years and doubled in the last decade, reports The Wire. “In some states like Telangana, Tripura, West Bengal, Kerala, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil […]
