Umbilical Discord
An estimated 8,000 babies are born with neural defects every year in Rajasthan. Most of them die within a few months of birth. They are lucky. …
TRIPPED
On December 26, 2004, the Union government of India issued the Patents (Amendments) Ordinance, which will change the way the country does …
The plague took us by surprise
ASHISH KUMAR MUKHERJEE is the Director General of Health Services (DGHS), and as the country's topmost health bureaucrat, was the man …
"Every ninth baby here suffers brain damage"
A woman with a mission. ORAL ATANVFAZOVA, at 39, finds herself in the midst of a salvage operation aimed at providing succour to the teeming …
Ebola vaccine developed to fight bioterrorism
An experimental vaccine against the lethal Ebola virus has been administered to humans for the first time in November 2003. If the trial proves …
Beyond Bhopal: incentive for unsafe industries
A judgement by a Bhopal court has brought the worst gas tragedy into spotlight. It has galvanized the media and the government into action. A …
What goes down must come up
It is a crime. Numerous factories deliberately inject untreated effluents directly into the ground, contaminating underground aquifers. Down To …
Vaccine Eloquent
Universal vaccination became part of government policy in 1978. A quarter of a century since, progress has been fitful. In some parts of the …
Plagued by rats
In the months of August and September 1994, panic gripped the country as news of the plague epidemic in Surat spread. Few had cared to ponder …
Kind to cash
The government has a plan to reach welfare to the poor without wasting money. It wants to put hard cash in their hands instead of spending on …
‘South-East Asia must remain polio-free after certification’
Poonam Khetrapal Singh became the first woman to assume the office of WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia on February 1, 2014. Her priority …
Beyond The Billion
If post-Independence leaders of India had ensured full literacy, a solution would have been in sight for a lot of problems. Population, for one. …
Of stoves, kilns and a fine distinction between emissions
In the second week of March, activists, academics, policy-makers and experts in various fields came together in Delhi to throw light on the …
State of worry
After a long gap of 10 years, India has released the National Family Health Survey 2015-16, though only for 13 states and two Union Territories. …
A reliable HIV self-test
Nitika Pant Pai, assistant professor at the department of medicine, McGill University, Canada, and her team have analysed data on acceptability …
Most disease maps unreliable
Disease maps help capture distribution of pathogens and their transmission intensity. An international team of researchers has reviewed 355 of …
Harmful Vaccines
Public Health Activist Anand Rai explains how harmful chemicals are being used in children's vaccines. ENGLISH TRANSLATION I got to know …
The revolutionary who transformed health care
ZAFRULLAH Chowdhury draws inspiration as much from Hippocrates as from Mao Zedong. To the first, he owes his medical ideals and to the second, …
Rising popularity of artificial vanilla puts Kerala farmers in distress
Vanilla is said to be the world's most popular flavour. As much as 40 per cent of the world's ice cream is vanilla flavoured. Its sweet, mildly …
Secretive tribunals, hidden damages
Canadian academic Gus Van Harten is well known for his efforts to reform the global investment treaty regime through his research papers, …
India’s many investment treaties make it vulnerable
Senior international lawyer Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, who heads the investment programme of the International Institute on Sustainable …
Pure myth
When was the last time you drank water straight from the tap at your house to slake thirst on a hot summer day, without hesitation. Chances are …
'I am rewriting Ayurvedic knowledge'
Vaidya Balendu Prakash is presently carrying out research work on Rasayan Shastra (metal therapy), based on ayurveda. He has been successfully …
Why diseases are "mysterious"
The government's public health system is completely defunct. Of late, there has been an alarming rise in disease outbreaks in the country. …
Blow to anti-AIDS campaign as condom turns taboo subject
The paanwallah-doubling-up-as-a-condom-vendor ad has been taken off the air. Instead, Doordarshan will show a village council member warning …
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