Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has again spoke out on the subject of Ayushman Bharat’s holdout states, where prospective beneficiaries cannot avail the benefits of the Government’s flagship health insurance scheme the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY). Of India’s states and union territories, four have yet to implement the scheme. “Ayushman Bharat is […]
Telangana
Sex determination labs in the crosshairs of the Telangana High Court
![Sex ratio at birth. Sex determination ban in India to prevent imbalanced sex ratio. By Melanurya (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i2.wp.com/www.healthissuesindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Sex_determination_ban.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 "Sex determination ban in India and freedom of speech")
The Telangana High Court has wrote to state government officials about the proliferation of sex determination labs despite the practice of prenatal sex determination being illegal in India. The two-justice bench, consisting of Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy, was responding to a public interest litigation filed before the High Court. […]
Another day, yet another sex determination racket busted
Three people have been arrested in connection with an illegal prenatal sex determination racket, in a reminder of the country’s sex ratio and discrimination woes. India’s sex ratio is seriously imbalanced, driven in part by the practice of sex-selective abortion. Even though prenatal sex determination is illegal in India, having been banned in 1994 through […]
A Rs 50 lakh price tag on dengue fever in Telangana
If the Telangana state government fails to control cases of dengue fever, it should be prepared to pay out Rs 50 lakh to casualties’ families per the High Court in the state. The news came after the death of a district court magistrate M. Jayamma due to dengue shock syndrome earlier this week, which spurred […]
Following infant death, hospitals in the firing line in Hyderabad over fire safety
On Monday, a fire broke out in Shine Children’s Hospital in the L.B. Nagar area of Hyderabad. Tragically, a four-month-old infant was killed in the blaze whilst four other patients were injured. The incident has led to concerns being expressed about fire safety norms conformity in Hyderabad’s hospitals. The fire broke out on the hospital’s […]
More women are smoking in Hyderabad – and lung cancer cases are on the rise
In 2018, lung cancer killed 18,112 women in India with 19,097 new cases diagnosed among them. In Telangana, where cancer cases have sharply increased since 1990, state capital Hyderabad offers a warning sign to women who use tobacco: the majority of lung cancer cases in the city occur among women who smoke. According to a […]
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 […]
Telangana says no to Ayushman Bharat
As Ayushman Bharat nears the one-year anniversary of its launch, the Telangana state government shows no signs of implementing the Central scheme in the state. In the recently unveiled state budget for the 2019-20 fiscal period, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said it would focus on its own state-level healthcare scheme, Aarogya Sri, which administers […]
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 […]
Spike in water-borne diseases in Hyderabad
Hyderabad is reporting a spike in water-borne diseases, sparking fears of water contamination. Diarrhoeal disease, viral hepatitis, and typhoid have all been reported in the Telangana state capital. At the time of writing, 16,178 people have fallen ill with diarrhoea and 1,301 are afflicted with typhoid fever. Viral hepatitis, meanwhile, is believed to have affected […]