India improves maternal mortality ratio, but poorer states yet to make progress
This is a considerable improvement from the 130 deaths per lakh in 2014-2016
India’s persistently high out-of-pocket health expenditure continues to push people into poverty
High expenditure on health is impoverishing 55 million Indians annually, says WHO
Designing infectious disease warnings that work
Most infectious disease warning systems have been set up to fail as they focus on science, not people.
World Health Assembly: Taiwan becomes a hot potato again
Down To Earth brings you latest updates from the ongoing session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva
Half the global population not fully covered by essential health services: Report
Two billion people experienced financial hardship due to out-of-pocket (OOP) spending on health in 2019
WHO declares monkeypox public health emergency of international concern
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus overruled a committee of experts who could not come to a consensus
Should minimum age for marriage of girls be raised to 21
A legal amendment will not be enough; an environment should be created for female children to realise their dreams
Mosquitoes genetically modified to combat dengue
For the first time mosquitoes have been engineered to fight all 4 known types of dengue
Has the free market economy added to India’s increasing PCOD burden?
About 9.13% of menstruating women in south India and Maharashtra suffer from PCOS, while 22.5 per cent have PCOD, according to UNICEF
Taliban takeover will impact Afghanistan healthcare: What’s WHO doing about it
WHO working with new Taliban regime to see to it that healthcare services are not impacted
Big push for One Health: FAO, UNEP, WHO, Animal health body lay out plan
Framework will integrate systems and capacity to collectively better prevent, predict, detect and respond to health threats
Run-up to pandemic treaty: WHO’s 10 proposals call for high-level council, changes to health regulations
Observers had earlier criticised the absence of independent monitoring for ensuring compliance with the pandemic accord
WHO’s urgent call: World needs new antimicrobial resistance vaccines
Urges equitable and global access to existing vaccines as well
There is a link between heat and mental health; and climate change is making it more pronounced
There has been an increase in footfall at major psychiatric hospitals in the country since March, an unusually hot month this year
Stop attacking health workers, cease hostilities in Ukraine: WHO
Attacks on health workers have led to at least 12 deaths and 34 injuries in Ukraine since February 24
Remdesivir: Predatory pricing of an unproven drug
Gilead Science’s price for the remdesivir drug reveals a faulty patents system and skewed policies of the United States
Prevention better than cure: Why World Bank bats for One Health to combat pandemics
Report finds cost of prevention a third of fighting off pandemic as pace of emerging infectious outbreaks increase
Kenya: Ruto proposes insurance reforms for universal health coverage; evokes mixed responses
The proposal will replace the current contribution system with a flat rate of 2.75 per cent of contributors’ gross salary
International Day of Happiness: Are our children really happy
As we gear up to celebrate the ‘International Day of Happiness’, do we have time, and empathy, to look at our own children to find if …
Pandemic treaty: Draft urges cooperation, equity, transparency but misses independent monitoring
Draft has evolved from a working document circulated earlier this year in July and builds on the comments made by member states, domain experts …
COVID is officially no longer a global health emergency — here’s what that means
COVID will still have pandemic status, and countries will continue to have their own authority as to whether to treat COVID as an emergency …
Iraq eliminates trachoma as a public health problem
Becomes 50th country globally to eliminate at least one neglected tropical disease
Health inequities to be blamed for premature deaths among people with disabilities: WHO
They are at a two-fold risk of contracting chronic illnesses like asthma, depression, diabetes, obesity, dental disorders and stroke
Anganwadi centres rush to verify children beneficiaries’ Aadhaar
Only 1/3rd of children have cards; Expert worries it may lead to millions losing access to food and nutrition
Lassa fever: Why there’s a call to declare a health emergency in Nigeria
The Nigerian Academy of Science has called for the current outbreak of Lassa fever in Africa’s most populous nation to be declared a …