Post Tagged with: "Health"

A Call for Safe and Ethical AI (Artificial Intelligence) for Health

A Call for Safe and Ethical AI (Artificial Intelligence) for Health

The World Health Organisation (WHO) urges caution while employing extensive language model tools (LLMs) produced by artificial intelligence (AI) to protect and enhance human well-being, human safety, and human autonomy, as well as to preserve public health. Some of the most rapidly growing platforms that mimic comprehending, processing, and creating human communication are LLMs, including ChatGPT, Bard, Bert, and many[Read More…]

by 26/05/2023 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Rajasthan Health Law Deserves Support, Can Benefit from Further Improvements

Rajasthan Health Law Deserves Support, Can Benefit from Further Improvements

The recently enacted Right to Health Act of Rajasthan has become a subject of hot debate with many renowned health activists welcoming it but at the same time some professional medical organizations and private health care providers opposing it. To clarify the issue, the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), a joint platform of hundreds of health organizations and networks, has recently[Read More…]

by 04/04/2023 Comments are Disabled India
 Kerala’s New Public Health Bill 2023: Subservient to Market Forces rather than Deliberative Democracy

 Kerala’s New Public Health Bill 2023: Subservient to Market Forces rather than Deliberative Democracy

The fifteenth Kerala General Assembly has passed the Public Health Bill without discussion following opposition uproar, which will fuel further marketization of the health sector and strong regulations and enforcement by the state government. The Bill reached the Legislative Assembly with notes from five Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) expressing disagreement with the Select Committee’s recommendations that warned about the possibility of serious human rights violations and[Read More…]

by 26/03/2023 Comments are Disabled India
Health Budget Lags Far Behind the Real Needs of People

Health Budget Lags Far Behind the Real Needs of People

An important aspect of health budget that we must keep in consideration while analyzing recent allocations relates to the fact that health budgeting in the present phase of India’s development is not about marginal increases. In fact marginal increases sometimes mean near stagnation after accounting for the inflationary factor. This apart, as India has one of the lowest public spending[Read More…]

by 08/02/2023 Comments are Disabled India
Comprehensive Health Reform Program That Will Benefit All Developing Countries

Comprehensive Health Reform Program That Will Benefit All Developing Countries

While so many differences have emerged in the context of the recent response to COVID-19 in various countries, one point on which it should be possible to establish wider agreement is that this response would have been much better if a robust, strong, rooted among people, trust-creating, community-based, well-resourced health system was in place in all rural as well as[Read More…]

by 08/01/2023 Comments are Disabled World
Millions Suffer as Junk Food Industry Rakes in Profit 

Millions Suffer as Junk Food Industry Rakes in Profit 

Increased consumption of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) was associated with more than 10% of all-cause premature, preventable deaths in Brazil in 2019. That is the finding of a new peer-reviewed study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The findings are significant not only for Brazil but also for high income countries such as the U S, Canada, the UK, and Australia, where UPFs[Read More…]

by 14/11/2022 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Silicosis Campaign in India Shows the Way Forward for Helping Victims of Occupational Diseases

Silicosis Campaign in India Shows the Way Forward for Helping Victims of Occupational Diseases

Victims of occupational diseases suffer all too frequently from neglect, resulting in extremely distressing conditions for them. Hence a recent campaign involving activists, judiciary and some state governments, particularly Rajasthan government, has appeared like a rare ray of hope. This campaign shows how significant benefits can reach workers suffering from silicosis, one of the most serious and common occupational diseases,[Read More…]

by 25/10/2022 Comments are Disabled India
Induction of private agencies in district hospitals an imprudent step

Induction of private agencies in district hospitals an imprudent step

  To   Dr Suman Bery Vice-Chairman Niti Ayog   Dear Dr Bery, In the public healthcare set up in the country, the hospitals run by the State governments at the district level play a pivotal role, providing a vast social security cover for the people, spanning the length and the breadth of the country. The medical and the para-medical[Read More…]

by 23/10/2022 Comments are Disabled India
‘Pharmacy of the World’- A phrase dangling with uncertainty

‘Pharmacy of the World’- A phrase dangling with uncertainty

When it came to supplying medicines to developing or under-developed countries, India held solid ground by sending affordable generic drugs for decades. It was an economically safer option for African countries against those medicines sent by the U.S or European companies. Earning the name of ‘Pharmacy of the World,’ India was able to give a boost to its pharmaceutical industry.[Read More…]

by 09/10/2022 Comments are Disabled India
Big Pharma and Obscene Profits

Big Pharma and Obscene Profits

Obscenely high prices for prescription medicine create billions of dollars of profit for giant pharmaceutical companies to the financial detriment for those whose health depend on their products. Reforming that system in lowering prescription drug prices has become an ongoing contest of money and influence prevailing over the lives and health of those who simply cannot afford the high costs.[Read More…]

by 07/10/2022 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Polio–To Avoid Costly Mistakes, Unbiased Appraisal of Eradication Efforts Needed

Polio–To Avoid Costly Mistakes, Unbiased Appraisal of Eradication Efforts Needed

According to recent reports which have caused widespread concern, authorities in New York, London and Jerusalem have discovered evidence that polio is spreading there and the source of this has been traced to the oral vaccine itself. According to  data quoted in a recent AP report ( Polio in US, UK and Israel shows rare risk of oral vax), since[Read More…]

by 25/08/2022 Comments are Disabled World
Cholera outbreak in Kashipur of Odisha

Cholera outbreak in Kashipur of Odisha

    The outbreak of Cholera in Kashipur block of Rayagada and other 7 districts has resulted in the death of more than 17 people and unrelieved suffering of hundreds is reported by the Health minister in Assembly. For the  last three decades , this has not been a new one  to Kashipur and other tribal populous areas of the[Read More…]

by 11/08/2022 Comments are Disabled India
Need for Caution and Widespread Consultation on Public Health Bill

Need for Caution and Widespread Consultation on Public Health Bill

The Government is in the process of finalizing a new public health bill while repealing the 125 year old Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897. While few will question the need for replacing such an old and outdated law, there is also urgent need for carefully studying the various provisions of the new bill so that it is not coercive and[Read More…]

by 14/07/2022 Comments are Disabled India
The Right to Healthy Food: Comorbidities and COVID-19

The Right to Healthy Food: Comorbidities and COVID-19

In early 2020, we saw the beginning of the COVID-19 ‘pandemic’. The world went into lockdown and even after lockdowns in various countries had been lifted, restrictions continued. Data now shows that lockdowns seemingly had limited if any positive impacts on the trajectory of COVID-19 and in 2022 the world – especially the poor – is paying an immense price[Read More…]

by 15/01/2022 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Smokeless Tobacco Fuels Oral Cancer Crisis in South Asia

Smokeless Tobacco Fuels Oral Cancer Crisis in South Asia

Photo Credit—Jan Swasthya Sahyog Recently when top Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan  withdrew from surrogate advertising of smokeless tobacco (SLT), it was welcomed but with a caveat- some other popular film actors still continue to contribute to booming sales of a product that is the number one  cause of a very serious oral cancer crisis in S.Asia. The Cigarettes and Other[Read More…]

by 28/12/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Is One Health approach the gateway towards pandemic preparedness?

Is One Health approach the gateway towards pandemic preparedness?

By Shobha Shukla & Bobby Ramakant  Covid pandemic is a grim reminder of what can go wrong when we do not work with an integrated “One Health” approach to human health, animal health, food system and climate. The critical link between these sectors, has only deepened over the years. But will our public health approach pass the litmus test of[Read More…]

by 27/12/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Think twice: Can we deliver on #HealthForAll without saving lives from viral hepatitis?

Think twice: Can we deliver on #HealthForAll without saving lives from viral hepatitis?

By Shobha Shukla & Bobby Ramakant Despite over 350 million people living with hepatitis B and C virus globally, and 3 persons dying every minute, much-needed efforts are yet to be on-track to end viral hepatitis in next 108 months (by 2030) as promised by heads of all countries in UN General Assembly (by adopting the Sustainable Development Goals). More[Read More…]

by 23/12/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Stopping antimicrobial resistance is the bedrock for advancing universal health coverage

Stopping antimicrobial resistance is the bedrock for advancing universal health coverage

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day is 12 December Stopping antimicrobial resistance by promoting infection prevention, responsible and appropriate use of antimicrobial medicines in human health, livestock and food systems, is the bedrock for promoting universal health coverage. Failing this, the absence of efficacious antimicrobials will effectively return the world to the pre-antibiotic era before the 1920s when lives were lost[Read More…]

by 10/12/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Leaders of cities in Asia Pacific commit for united local actions to meet global health goals

Leaders of cities in Asia Pacific commit for united local actions to meet global health goals

by Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant #EndTobacco is an essential part of the bedrock for Universal Health Coverage Can we deliver on the promise of health for all unless we fix the gaping and widening punctures that are causing epidemic-proportion of preventable diseases and untimely deaths? No one needs to suffer from preventable illnesses or die from curable diseases. Tobacco[Read More…]

by 07/12/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Time to Evaluate Front of Packet Labeling

Time to Evaluate Front of Packet Labeling

Poor diet is responsible for more deaths worldwide than any other risk factor, and is a leading cause of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Global estimates suggest that almost 2.3 billion children and adults are overweight. The growing availability of ultra-processed foods, which contain high levels of sugars, sodium, saturated fats and refined carbohydrates, is a key contributor[Read More…]

by 29/11/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Sync between Traditional & Modern Medicine is A Necessity

Sync between Traditional & Modern Medicine is A Necessity

The Corona crisis was becoming more dangerous with every passing day. At that time, I was living in my dormitory in Moscow. I was planning to come to India in March 2020 to attend Holi. By the time I started to look for flights, the crisis had already changed travel policies. Two weeks quarantine upon arrival with very less clarity[Read More…]

by 22/11/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
 What’s the link? Food, human health, livestock, environment, and antimicrobial resistance

 What’s the link? Food, human health, livestock, environment, and antimicrobial resistance

by Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant  Medicines which aim to relieve pain and suffering, may cure us of diseases and avert untimely deaths, are at increasing risk of becoming ineffective against disease-causing microbes. Antimicrobial resistance occurs when microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites no longer respond to medicines. This makes common infections harder to treat, more expensive to[Read More…]

by 19/11/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Time To Combine Traditional And Modern Medicines

Time To Combine Traditional And Modern Medicines

The corona crisis has shown us a stark reality that was otherwise ignored for a long time. Our health systems and healthcare facilities are inadequate, overly expensive, and largely out of reach. When someone in our families falls sick then we get bothered about familial health. Running between doctors, pharmacies and pathologies our budgets get imbalanced, yet we do not[Read More…]

by 18/11/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Global lung health meet opens with top three science announcements

Global lung health meet opens with top three science announcements

The global (and largest) lung health conference opened with not one but at least three major scientific announcements. The 52nd Union World Conference on Lung Health was marked with the announcement of three major scientific developments that can potentially impact the global response to tuberculosis (TB), the world’s second deadliest infectious disease after Covid-19. Researchers from the University of Cape[Read More…]

by 19/10/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Doctors Mobilize in COVID Times To Protect Essential Conditions of Proper Care to Patients

Doctors Mobilize in COVID Times To Protect Essential Conditions of Proper Care to Patients

 At world level an increasing number of eminent doctors have  been expressing anguish since the advent of COVID-19 that   that they are under increasing pressure to work only in the narrow confines of what is imposed from above, and when they  they try to act on the basis of the best of their judgment then they face undue opposition and[Read More…]

by 29/09/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
 Ostomy-Need for Awareness

 Ostomy-Need for Awareness

October 2, this year,is  not only observed as the birthday of Gandhi, it is also a World Ostomy Day. Ostomy is an artificial opening during operation in the organ of the body such as a colostomy, ileostomy or gastrostomy , a stoma. Ostomy surgery is a life saving procedure that allows bodily waste pass through a surgically created stoma on[Read More…]

by 26/09/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
 Will global charter help accelerate action on NCDs to prevent untimely deaths?

 Will global charter help accelerate action on NCDs to prevent untimely deaths?

A report released recently by NCD Alliance during the Annual Global Week for Action on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), calls for integration of NCDs prevention and care into global health initiatives and universal health coverage. Jointly produced by the George Institute for Global Health and NCD Alliance, the report makes a call for breaking down the existing silos in global health,[Read More…]

by 20/09/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Step up the pace globally if universal vaccination could lead us out of the pandemic

Step up the pace globally if universal vaccination could lead us out of the pandemic

The Covid pandemic has hard drilled the lesson why health and social security of each one of us is inter-dependent on health and social security of one another. But do we see more equity (or inequity) in the Covid response, such as the rollout of the vaccination worldwide? Inequitable distribution of vaccine, diagnostics, oxygen, personnel protective equipment, and other necessary[Read More…]

by 19/09/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Moving HIV prevention and treatment tools from the lab to all those in need

Moving HIV prevention and treatment tools from the lab to all those in need

Recent scientific advancements have brought to the fore the promise of more effective and long-term solutions to help people living with HIV to thrive and not just survive. Today we have a buffet of HIV prevention options (such as, oral daily PrEP, once-a-month vaginal dapivirine ring for women, 2-monthly long-acting injectable) along with a bouquet of improved treatment modalities (monthly[Read More…]

by 08/08/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
 Tale of two pandemics: Follow the science and do not forget one at the cost of the other

 Tale of two pandemics: Follow the science and do not forget one at the cost of the other

Covid-19 has posed innumerable health, economic, and social challenges for all, including people living with HIV. It has exposed the fragility of health systems around the globe and has diverted political attention and funding from other infectious diseases like TB and HIV. The opening session of the 11th International IAS Conference on HIV Science (#IAS2021) held virtually from Berlin, saw[Read More…]

by 20/07/2021 Comments are Disabled World
WHO’s doctor-patient ratio of 1:1000 – A far fetched dream for India!

WHO’s doctor-patient ratio of 1:1000 – A far fetched dream for India!

The never ending queues outside the clinics, jam packed hospitals, and the backlogs of the surgeries, this is the typical scene outside any hospital in India. In order for a nation to conquer any health emergency and to avoid such situations to crop up in future, the first and foremost heed should be paid to the healthcare personnel. India’s frail[Read More…]

by 12/07/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Heavy Metals have Contaminated Entire French Population, Warns Study

Heavy Metals have Contaminated Entire French Population, Warns Study

A study has found that nearly all French people are contaminated with heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury, and that exposure levels are higher than in other European countries. A RFI report said: France’s national health agency Santé Publique France said smoking and the consumption of fish and seafood products had contributed to the findings, published recently. The presence[Read More…]

by 07/07/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Nutrition Labelling System : Visualised or Written?

Nutrition Labelling System : Visualised or Written?

In India, diet diversity has increased a great deal in the last 20 years. Diet is one of the cornerstones of diabetes care. There has been a rapant increase in excessive and unbalanced intakes of energy, saturated and trans fatty acids, salt and sugar which has led to increased risk of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity[Read More…]

by 20/06/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Putting people first is a critical cog in the wheel for responsive health systems

Putting people first is a critical cog in the wheel for responsive health systems

Imagine a world where no one was suffering from any of the preventable diseases, be it non-communicable diseases (NCDs) or infectious diseases, or had to die untimely due to diseases that were primarily avoidable! Also imagine a tobacco free world – imagine a world where healthy balanced nutrition for all was a reality – where health for all was not[Read More…]

by 16/06/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Comprehensive Health Reform Program Will Benefit All Developing Countries

Comprehensive Health Reform Program Will Benefit All Developing Countries

            While so many differences have emerged in the context of the recent response to COVID-19 in various countries, one point on which it should be possible to establish wider agreement is that this response would have been much better if a robust, strong, well-rooted, trustworthy and trust-creating, community-based , well-resourced health system was in place in all rural as[Read More…]

by 06/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Understanding the Wider Health Crisis is Important for Adequate Response

Understanding the Wider Health Crisis is Important for Adequate Response

>>  “Any epidemic anywhere must now be seen as a threat to virtually all countries especially those that serve as major hubs of international travel.” >> “Doctors worldwide are losing some of the most useful and affordable antibiotics.” >>    “At least 333 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases, other than HIV infection, occurred in one year.”          These[Read More…]

by 04/05/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Millions of children at risk from serious disease after Covid disrupts 60 mass immunization campaigns

Millions of children at risk from serious disease after Covid disrupts 60 mass immunization campaigns

An alliance of international health agencies has warned that up to 228 million people, mostly children, are at risk from serious disease after the Covid pandemic derailed around 60 mass immunization campaigns in 50 countries. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Gavi vaccines alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO) released a joint statement on Monday warning that “with[Read More…]

by 27/04/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Nationalize health infrastructure and services, says Socialist Party of India

Nationalize health infrastructure and services, says Socialist Party of India

Members of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyaan have joined the Socialist Party of India and other civil society organizations in calling for the nationalization of all health infrastructure and all medical education services and infrastructure in the country, without any delay. In a press release, Socialist Party (India) said nationalization was necessitated by the “acute national emergency threatening public health and[Read More…]

by 26/04/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Comparing Response to Two Important Diseases—Tuberculosis and COVID-19

Comparing Response to Two Important Diseases—Tuberculosis and COVID-19

Tuberculosis has been one of the most damaging infectious diseases of India for several decades. COVID-19  has been the most  feared disease In India for over a year now. From the beginning of 2020 to March  2021 , a period of about 15 months, about 150 thousand or 1.5 lakh deaths were caused by COVID-19 in India. The normal number[Read More…]

by 18/04/2021 Comments are Disabled India
What Is Health?

What Is Health?

  Marking The World Health Day, April 7, this is an extract from a book by PROF. B. M. HEGDE , HEALTHY INDIA 2020. Health is not the mere absence of physical illness. Health is the overall wellbeing of an individual that takes into account his/her physical, mental, spiritual, societal aspects of life into consideration. With this broad definition of[Read More…]

by 07/04/2021 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Will advances in TB treatment outweigh the Covid-19 pushback?

Will advances in TB treatment outweigh the Covid-19 pushback?

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TB diagnosis and mortality in 2020 has been frightening, to say the least. Recently released WHO data shows that 1.4 million fewer people got TB care in 2020 as compared to 2019- a 21% decrease. Also over 0.5 million people died from TB in 2020 due to lack of diagnosis. Latest data by[Read More…]

by 26/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Cancer and stigma – A reality?

Cancer and stigma – A reality?

What are the most stigmatized illnesses around the world? Umm…TB, HIV, Mental health issues. But have you come across people who are stigmatized because they have cancer? Do you think it exists? Well, it does. Many of us are now aware that the nation is going through an epidemiological transition, which means that there is a change in the pattern[Read More…]

by 11/03/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Are we failing children in the HIV response?

Are we failing children in the HIV response?

The promise was that by 2020, no child will be born with HIV or newly infected with HIV during breastfeeding across the world. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic posed an unprecedented challenge to health systems, the progress towards the HIV-related 2020 goalpost, despite some commendable gains, was not very encouraging. Despite global efforts to prevent HIV transmission, 150,000 children were[Read More…]

by 25/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Understanding the concept of Quality of Life

Understanding the concept of Quality of Life

 Written by Dr Swati Sapna and  Upasna Gaba WHO defines Quality of Life as “an individual’s perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns.”(1) Quality of life (QOL) is a broad multidimensional concept that typically involves both positive and[Read More…]

by 24/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
The Role of Non- pharmacological interventions in COVID-19 Pandemic

The Role of Non- pharmacological interventions in COVID-19 Pandemic

Written by Bhagyashree Dutta and Dr Chandrima Chatterjee  In December 2019, in Wuhan, China, a cluster of unusual severe pneumonia cases with unknown causes were reported. These were later identified as caused by a novel strain of coronavirus [1]. Severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus 2 (SARS_CoV-2) outbreaks, was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11th,[Read More…]

by 22/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Organ donation: Knowledge and opportunities for action

Organ donation: Knowledge and opportunities for action

Written by Dr. Anamika Roy, Dr. Chandrima Chatterjee and Bhagyashree Dutta Organ donation is the procedure of surgically removing an organ or tissue from one individual (the donor) and placing it into another individual (the recipient).[1] Transplantation is required when the recipient’s organ has failed or has been damaged by disease or injury. Organ transplantation is a major medical advancement.[Read More…]

by 22/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Why politicians and doctors keep ignoring the medical research on Vitamin D and Covid

Why politicians and doctors keep ignoring the medical research on Vitamin D and Covid

It is probably not a good idea to write while in the grip of anger. But I am struggling to suppress my emotions about a wasted year, during which politicians and many doctors have ignored a growing body of evidence suggesting that Vitamin D can play a critically important role in the prevention and treatment of Covid-19. It is time[Read More…]

by 17/02/2021 Comments are Disabled World
Despite  the Spin By Lobbyists , Extremely Tragic Health Impacts of Alcohol Confirmed by Latest Research

Despite  the Spin By Lobbyists , Extremely Tragic Health Impacts of Alcohol Confirmed by Latest Research

            It is now well that the powerful tobacco lobby spread many falsehoods to undermine the steadily growing scientific evidence regarding the very serious health risks of tobacco. Millions of dollars were spent on this lobbying, with huge benefits doled out to corrupt scientists, decision-makers and media. The lobbyists and their collaborators made huge fortunes while public health suffered a[Read More…]

by 16/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
India’s Growing Disease Burden… Will Healthcare Budget Suffice?

India’s Growing Disease Burden… Will Healthcare Budget Suffice?

The global health emergency that jolted the world from its slumber made us realize the value and importance of health, probably the only positive outcome of the pandemic. Baring few nations, others struggled hard to cope with their crumbling health infrastructure. In India too, Health sector which had long been overshadowed and ignored in both priority and fund’s in the[Read More…]

by 09/02/2021 Comments are Disabled India
Are You Or Someone You Know At Risk For Diabetes?

Are You Or Someone You Know At Risk For Diabetes?

Eight years ago, I went for a blood pull early in the morning. I was instructed to eat nothing and only have plain water, coffee or tea starting at ten o’clock at night until after the blood extraction the next day. So I decided the day before the procedure that I would have spaghetti and meatballs for dinner as that[Read More…]

by 08/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
World Cancer Day

World Cancer Day

Today, February 4, is the World Cancer Day. We wish all the cancer patients and caregivers – family members, friends and caregivers in the cancer hospitals from all levels – helpers, nurses and oncologists our best wishes, concern and empathy. All sciences have borders of unknown. In the case of cancer it is even more so. There are a lot[Read More…]

by 04/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
 Expanding range of options to prevent HIV is key as no one size fits all

 Expanding range of options to prevent HIV is key as no one size fits all

While the currently available HIV prevention and treatment tools have helped reduce new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths by 23% and 39% respectively since 2010, we still have a long way to go before ending this epidemic. With 1.7 million new HIV infections and 690,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2019, one cannot but over emphasise the urgent need to have more[Read More…]

by 02/02/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Health and Education Sectors Desperately Need High Budget Allocations, But They  Need Something More Too

Health and Education Sectors Desperately Need High Budget Allocations, But They  Need Something More Too

All those concerned are eagerly looking forward to significantly increased allocations for health and education sectors in the new union budget, particularly in the former, as so much loss has been suffered in these two sectors that several years of steady, even if slow, progress has been pushed back. People suffering many serious non-Covid diseases were denied essential medical help[Read More…]

by 31/01/2021 Comments are Disabled India
The ring has finally arrived!

The ring has finally arrived!

You guessed it right. I am talking about the dapivirine vaginal ring (DPV-VR), which is one of the top advances happening in the field of microbicides. It is the first long acting prevention product whose Phase-3 randomised controlled studies have shown that using the dapivirine vaginal ring reduced the risk of HIV infection in women and long-term use was well-tolerated.[Read More…]

by 28/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Life after 2020: Need for a new vision on health

Life after 2020: Need for a new vision on health

A futuristic vision was very much evident in India at different points of time starting with the Bhore committee report.  At the international context, a futuristic orientation in health and wellbeing was discernible from an official and institutional framework related to proclamation of goals, firstly the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), followed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Around the same[Read More…]

by 20/01/2021 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Illusionary Diagnostic Techniques In Modern Medicine: A First Person Account

Illusionary Diagnostic Techniques In Modern Medicine: A First Person Account

I had hoped that I will exit this world without getting into the clutches of the medical profession. I also had a good reason to be hopeful. In my almost 57 years of life I had not spent a single day or night in a hospital as a patient. I often use to boast about it. Unlike my four siblings,[Read More…]

by 17/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Most Important Aspects of Nutrition Are Also the Most Neglected

Most Important Aspects of Nutrition Are Also the Most Neglected

In India we have the biggest programs on nutrition and we have also have some of the highest rates of malnutrition. Despite the expanding nutrition programs (checked for the time being by Covid related factors ), malnutrition levels remain high, as revealed also in the latest surveys. This curious and sad phenomenon has been examined by several learned experts, but[Read More…]

by 16/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Community health work is work

Community health work is work

This year the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) day is different in a way that never before the UHC message was so loud and clear. From first case of coronavirus eleven months ago to nearly 70 million cases worldwide, the pandemic has made us realize how essential is health security for each one of us – and – unless we ensure[Read More…]

by 12/12/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Barriers to Organ Donation in India

Barriers to Organ Donation in India

Co-Written by Dr. Swati Sapna & Upasna Gaba  Organ donation is when a person allows an organ of theirs to be removed, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive or after the death of the donor with the approval of the near relative (Tamuli et al., 2019). Transplantations are the next that follow organ donations that include kidney, heart,[Read More…]

by 12/11/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
When Role of Vaccines as Public Health Clashes with Their Role As Source of Super Profits

When Role of Vaccines as Public Health Clashes with Their Role As Source of Super Profits

          Vaccines have performed an important role in improving public health and saving human lives. All the scientists, labs, manufacturers and medical personnel who contributed to this deserve our deepest thanks and gratitude. However in recent years a different role of vaccines started emerging– vaccines as a source of huge profits. Things became more worrying when this role of vaccines[Read More…]

by 09/11/2020 1 comment India
The link between tobacco and cancer

The link between tobacco and cancer

One in four cancer patient is a tobacco consumer in India. And if you honestly say that you have not seen any smoker suffer from cancer, as is likely, you may still be right because you have seen the other three. You may even agree with Mr. Shyam Charan Gupta, a beedi baron, one of the BJP MPs, and the[Read More…]

by 05/11/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Globalization and health: A glimpse into the developing nations

Globalization and health: A glimpse into the developing nations

Co-Written by Dr. Krati Shrivastava, Dr. Parul Malik & Dr. Arathi P Rao Globalization with its worldwide economic, political and cultural integration has made the world a small village with the borders being dissolved between countries. It has had a positive aspect and has successfully brought the world closer, but simultaneously, it has also resulted in various important public health[Read More…]

by 27/10/2020 Comments are Disabled Globalisation
Health literacy for promotion of self- management to tackle Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) during a pandemic

Health literacy for promotion of self- management to tackle Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) during a pandemic

Co-Written by Parul Malik, Arathi P Rao, Urvashi Priyadarshini & Sudhamshi Beeram The WHO Health Promotion Glossary describes health literacy (HL) as the empowerment of the individuals to gain and apply health related knowledge effectively. It involves more than just ‘acquiring’ information about diseases and health conditions. It is influenced by socioeconomic, environmental, and demographic factors, as well as by[Read More…]

by 24/10/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Slower than the snail: Health care policy process and reforms in India

Slower than the snail: Health care policy process and reforms in India

We have heard about ‘at a snail’s pace’ which normally describes slow action or movement especially when we think that doing it faster would be much more better. These days snails move faster than the State. It is possible to come to this conclusion even before the introduction if we assess the way our health system functions. We have a[Read More…]

by 23/10/2020 Comments are Disabled India
Sanitizing agents: While keeping COVID away, are they paving way for AMR?

Sanitizing agents: While keeping COVID away, are they paving way for AMR?

Co-Written by Dr. Parul Malik, Prabhu Dutta Shaw and Dr. Arathi P Rao Sanitizing agents or biocides play an essential role in cleaning and disinfecting and are widely used for environmental and personal disinfection in both- the healthcare and the non-healthcare settings. They are also extensively used to disinfect the areas associated with food production and livestock, such as equipment,[Read More…]

by 21/10/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
 An effective COVID-19 vaccine: Will you take it or will you not?

 An effective COVID-19 vaccine: Will you take it or will you not?

A new study reveals that a large percentage of people globally are hesitant to take a COVID 19 vaccine if and when it is made available. Researchers from The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) conducted a survey in 19 countries that have been hard-hit by the virus, in June 2020 to determine potential acceptance rates and factors influencing acceptance[Read More…]

by 20/10/2020 Comments are Disabled World
Building resilience is critical to minimise the impact of humanitarian crises

Building resilience is critical to minimise the impact of humanitarian crises

The number of people affected and displaced by conflicts and natural disasters has almost doubled over the past decade and continues to rise. Climate crisis is a major driver and amplifier of disaster risks and losses, even as armed conflicts compel hordes of people to flee their homes in search of safety. Slow onset disasters, like extreme temperatures and droughts,[Read More…]

by 18/10/2020 Comments are Disabled Counter Solutions
Image by Eric Westbrook

Globalization in health: An upside or a roadblock?

Co-Written by Sudhamshi Beeram, Parul Malik & Arathi P Rao The term “globalization” used in a variety of contexts over the years is mostly debated to be an evolution across the fields of economy and industry and as the bridging of geographical gaps.  It is essentially a functional integration of the global population (Lee & Collin, 2001) and according to[Read More…]

by 15/10/2020 Comments are Disabled Globalisation
Is Universal Health Care a ‘proxy’ for an Insurance-based selective health care to the people?

Is Universal Health Care a ‘proxy’ for an Insurance-based selective health care to the people?

According to WHO, “Universal Health Care (UHC) means that all individuals and communities receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. It includes the full spectrum of essential, quality health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care. UHC does not mean free coverage for all possible health interventions, regardless of the cost, as no[Read More…]

by 04/10/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Can India  sustain a safe sanitary culture?

Can India  sustain a safe sanitary culture?

People wear masks and use handwash to keep the virus away as a result of  fear of infection. One may also find this new behaviour as a formality among many persons and as a result of legalities.  And this is happening in a society which is least concerned about sanitary practices. In this new sanitary culture, the prominent internalised attitude[Read More…]

by 03/10/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Handling emotions during the lockdown: Eating the way forward to happiness

Handling emotions during the lockdown: Eating the way forward to happiness

By Dr Chandrima Chatterjee and Dr Parul Malik  The ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had wide ranging consequences for everyone in the world. Not only has the health infrastructure come under close scrutiny and COVID has claimed the lives of many people, but the effect has stretched into the lives of people, who were not even infected by this virus.[Read More…]

by 03/10/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Globalization: a multifaceted exchange platform of healthcare

Globalization: a multifaceted exchange platform of healthcare

by Dr. Chandrima Chatterjee, Dr. Parul Malik and Dr. Arathi P Rao Globalization has been described by the economist Brian Easton [1] as “problematic”. He also mentions that often writers avoid explaining about globalization analytically but rather, relate it to a series of phenomena such as capital flow, international organizations and policies as the likes of “free trade”. There is[Read More…]

by 21/09/2020 Comments are Disabled Globalisation
Strong unions are pivotal for safety of healthcare workers and patients

Strong unions are pivotal for safety of healthcare workers and patients

 In May 2019, all 194 countries that set the agenda of the World Health Organization met at the 72nd World Health Assembly and endorsed the establishment of World Patient Safety Day to be marked annually on 17 September. But this year’s COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled the huge challenges and risks healthcare workers are facing globally including hospital-borne infections, violence, stigma,[Read More…]

by 17/09/2020 Comments are Disabled World
Can health literacy empower the health care workforce in handling the COVID-19 pandemic more effectively?

Can health literacy empower the health care workforce in handling the COVID-19 pandemic more effectively?

by Dr. Arathi P Rao, Dr Parul Malik, Dr. Anil K Bhat and Dr. Kesavan Rajasekharan Nayar The concept of “Health Literacy” (HL) is gaining importance, more so in the COVID-19 era and is now being frequently applied in various studies. The levels of HL are being assessed for patients, their caregivers and the population in general (students, teachers etc.).[Read More…]

by 14/09/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
What Can We Learn from Cuba? Medicare-for-All Is a Beginning, Not the End Point

What Can We Learn from Cuba? Medicare-for-All Is a Beginning, Not the End Point

As a coup de grâce to the Bernie Sanders campaign Joe Biden declared that he would veto Medicare-for-All.  This could drive a dedicated health care advocate to relentlessly pursue Med-4-All as a final goal.  However, it is not the final goal.  It should be the first step in a complete transformation of medicine which includes combining community medicine with natural[Read More…]

by 01/09/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Public Health and Health Literacy: Partnership for Health Promotion

Public Health and Health Literacy: Partnership for Health Promotion

Co-Written by Dr. Parul Malik and Dr. Arathi P Rao The year 2020, has not only been the year of the “pandemic”, but also the year of “infodemic”- a term that was coined in 2003 in relation to the SARS outbreak. This term “infodemic”, referring to an excessive amount of available information, which may be biased and harmful, is becoming[Read More…]

by 31/08/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Demand for Non-Covid19 Public Health Services for Women, Children, Transgender, Disable and Senior Citizens gets Louder

Demand for Non-Covid19 Public Health Services for Women, Children, Transgender, Disable and Senior Citizens gets Louder

Women, children, transgender persons, people with disability and senior citizens is the most invisible population of the country. Though the harshest and extremely unplanned lockdown to prevent the spread of Coronavirus failed miserably, it brought 19million workers working and living away from home, the backbone of Indian economy, in public gaze. With the abrupt announcement of Lockdown and shutting of[Read More…]

by 30/08/2020 Comments are Disabled India
Undermining Pandemic: A look back

Undermining Pandemic: A look back

Health is one of the basic human rights of a human being. But this has always been undermined by the governments everywhere in the world, even though the UN has proclaimed–Health is a right. Some of the States have incorporated it in their constitution but it stands as a customary one. Majority of the countries don’t guarantee that none of[Read More…]

by 18/06/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Challenges in Seeking Health Care amidst COVID 19 Pandemic: Experiences of Cancer Patients

Challenges in Seeking Health Care amidst COVID 19 Pandemic: Experiences of Cancer Patients

Co-Written by Akhter Hussain Bhat &  Noorain Batool Khan The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a worldwide threat and a major healthcare concern. Since its outbreak in China, the virus has so far affected more than 5.72 million people with over 3.56 lakh deaths globally causing widespread concern, fear, anxiety and stress. Owing to the severe infectious nature of[Read More…]

by 02/06/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Out-Of-Pocket Healthcare Expenditure, Covid-19 and Impoverishment in India

Out-Of-Pocket Healthcare Expenditure, Covid-19 and Impoverishment in India

Co-Written by Iffat Jahan Azhar Prof. Mohammad Akram According to World Health Organisation (WHO), healthcare services, all over the world, aim to ensure that necessary services are accessible to people at affordable prices. But it seems different in low and middle income countries including India, where government’s spending on healthcare is very little and healthcare financing is heavily relying upon[Read More…]

by 29/05/2020 1 comment India
Johnson & Johnson’s Double Standard Regarding Their Talcum Powder

Johnson & Johnson’s Double Standard Regarding Their Talcum Powder

  To Drugs Controller General of India Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), Directorate General of Health Services Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India FDA Bhavan, ITO, Kotla Road, New Delhi -110002 Sir, This is to draw your immediate attention of CDSCO towards the announcement dated May 19, 2020 by Johnson & Johnson, a multinational company[Read More…]

by 29/05/2020 1 comment World
Public Health–A forgotten Concept

Public Health–A forgotten Concept

  The COVID 19 has proved us how much public health system is important. They are emerging as the life-saver in most of the states. Shamelessly, the private health institutions have started projecting themselves, as ‘reserved army’ in this corona war may be to save their face. But they were the institutions who had closed their doors for patients of[Read More…]

by 26/05/2020 Comments are Disabled India
Cancer Care during COVID 19 Pandemic: Untold Challenges

Cancer Care during COVID 19 Pandemic: Untold Challenges

Co-Written by Akhter Hussain Bhat & Dr. Mohammad Akram The novel COVID-19 has caused widespread concern, fear, anxiety and stress among millions of people worldwide. The virus has affected more than 5 million people causing more than 3.3 lakh deaths while many are battling for recovery around the globe. Owing to the stern and infectious nature of the virus, the[Read More…]

by 25/05/2020 Comments are Disabled India
The ‘Vayye-Vayya’ society: Morbidity and medicalization in Kerala

The ‘Vayye-Vayya’ society: Morbidity and medicalization in Kerala

A lot had already been written about the high morbidity conscious Kerala society and especially what was being called in the early eighties as the ‘Kerala Paradox’. This essentially is a conceptual complex which meant that  the morbidity rate was very high in Kerala compared to the low mortality and it also meant that the state could achieve better  health[Read More…]

by 23/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Gandhi’s talisman is best guiding light to reform public health

Gandhi’s talisman is best guiding light to reform public health

Dr Sandeep Pandey, Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant Mahatma Gandhi’s talisman is perhaps the best guiding light to reform the public health system in the wake of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: “I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test- “Recall the face of the[Read More…]

by 17/05/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
The TB Paradox

The TB Paradox

     What causes much more death and tragedy throughout the world, for several decades than Covid-19, but does not cause panic and hysteria, and, is not considered an emergency? It’s TB Folks! Tuberculosis Tuberculosis – or TB, as it’s commonly called — is a contagious infection that usually attacks your lungs. It can spread to other parts of your body, like your brain and spine.[Read More…]

by 21/04/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Reproductive health services are essential services, including during pandemics like COVID-19

Reproductive health services are essential services, including during pandemics like COVID-19

The recently released Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2020 shows that Asia and the Pacific region is not on track to achieve any of the 169 targets of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), including those around ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health services. Despite commitments made by governments, inequality in the region is growing and[Read More…]

by 07/04/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Living With Type 1 Diabetes

Living With Type 1 Diabetes

Living with something like this requires a great amount of motivation, positive mindset and a healthy living. Struggling with diabetes or any disease in fact is not easy and it breaks you at many points of your life because you loose hope and the desire to live. It is important to not give up and accept your body with the[Read More…]

by 06/04/2020 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Care For Your Kidney

Care For Your Kidney

The human body is a compound, well-developed machine consisting of many parts, each for a specific vital function. Among these parts, the Kidney constitutes a ‘life-sustaining organ’. Kidneys, two in number are bean-shaped organs located against back muscles in the upper abdominal area. Kidneys have an important role in our physiology. In addition to cleaning blood, kidneys maintain salt and[Read More…]

by 12/03/2020 1 comment Life/Philosophy
“No stepping out” is the life-influencing message of breast cancer survivor

“No stepping out” is the life-influencing message of breast cancer survivor

International Women’s Day special I was born and brought in a happy family in New Delhi. I had a twin sister and a younger brother.  Both my parents were working. I graduated from Hindu College, Delhi University in 1977 and went to Peoples’ Friendship University in Moscow (erstwhile USSR) for an integrated course in Geology. Finally, back home again, I[Read More…]

by 04/03/2020 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Understanding Autism through a TV mom’s eyes

Understanding Autism through a TV mom’s eyes

A few nights ago, I watched a poignant and slightly heart wrenching Bengali drama on YouTube that shines a light on disorders like autism. It was the first time that I saw a drama script was written to raise awareness about autism in a developing country like Bangladesh. The 2014 drama showcases what parenting a child with special needs is[Read More…]

by 06/11/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Open Letter to Yale University Authorities – Don’t Steal/Hijack/Subvert the Collective Work of ABVA, New Delhi, India.Scrap Brudner Prize 2019

Open Letter to Yale University Authorities – Don’t Steal/Hijack/Subvert the Collective Work of ABVA, New Delhi, India.Scrap Brudner Prize 2019

It has been brought to our notice that the official website of LGBT Studies, Yale University states that the Brudner prize 2019-20 is being awarded posthumously to Siddhartha Gautam(SG) for his invaluable contribution to the LGBT struggle in India. SG joined AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan (ABVA) briefly for about two years and worked with six other co-authors of Less than[Read More…]

by 03/11/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Cost of inaction to prevent and treat TB is (very) high

Cost of inaction to prevent and treat TB is (very) high

Prevention of TB was the focus of many a sessions at the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Hyderabad, India, on the theme of ‘Ending the Emergency: Science, Leadership, Action.’ This conference comes one year after the first ever United Nations High-Level Meeting (UNHLM) on TB. One of the commitments made in the political declaration of the UNHLM[Read More…]

by 02/11/2019 Comments are Disabled India
Ground zero: Frontline champions lead the fight to #endTB as global meet opens in India

Ground zero: Frontline champions lead the fight to #endTB as global meet opens in India

It was indeed a humbling experience for me to interact with a few frontline healthcare workers who are courageously fighting the #endTB battle on the ground in Hyderabad, India (the venue for the 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health). My day began with meeting G Swamy Reddy, project officer at Lepra Society in Hyderabad. He has been involved with[Read More…]

by 29/10/2019 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Are we forgetting that TB prevention is better than cure?

Are we forgetting that TB prevention is better than cure?

Without infection there is no disease: Nip the TB infection Prevention of new infections of TB bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) and their progression to active TB disease is critical to reduce the burden of TB disease and to achieve the goal of ending TB by 2030. Around 587 million (35%) of the total estimated 1.7 billion people infected with latent TB[Read More…]

by 28/10/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Speed is not enough, accelerating progress is key to end TB: new WHO report

Speed is not enough, accelerating progress is key to end TB: new WHO report

  Global fight against tuberculosis (TB) is making modest gains, although largely not yet on track to end TB. 2019 Global TB Report of the World Health Organization (WHO) launched on 17 October 2019 gives hope, not despair, because sustained efforts have yielded some significant results. Only European region is on track to meet 2020 targets of 20% reduction in[Read More…]

by 18/10/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
TB is preventable & curable: Zero new infection & zero deaths must become a reality

TB is preventable & curable: Zero new infection & zero deaths must become a reality

TB is preventable, treatable and curable. Science shows how can we effectively prevent, accurately diagnose, treat with effective regimen, and eventually cure TB. But are not we failing to translate scientific wisdom in public health gains? How can we explain over 10 million new cases of TB and 1.6 million TB deaths (including 300,000 TB deaths among people living with[Read More…]

by 05/08/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Preventing TB is rooted in medical ethics and human rights

Preventing TB is rooted in medical ethics and human rights

With quarter of world’s population infected with latent TB (not active TB disease), and in the light of scientific fact that every new case of active TB disease comes from this pool of population infected with latent TB, the writing on the wall is clear: we cannot put TB prevention on the blindspot anymore if we are to eliminate TB[Read More…]

by 03/08/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
In Kashmir: Love and respect thy patient

In Kashmir: Love and respect thy patient

                    Today, the world over, a number of issues confronting the societies are discussed day in and day out and intellectual analysis and outpourings start to emanate once the issue at stake draws the attention of masses in the society, Healthcare is one such issue which holds a tremendous significance in[Read More…]

by 01/08/2019 Comments are Disabled Kashmir
Is Universal Health Coverage an opportunity to end AIDS and TB?

Is Universal Health Coverage an opportunity to end AIDS and TB?

At the United Nations General Assembly in September 2019, a special United Nations High Level Meeting (UNHLM) will be held on Universal Health Coverage (UHC). 193 countries have promised to deliver on UHC by 2030 by committing to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But will push on UHC alone deliver on the promise of health for all where ‘no one is[Read More…]

by 31/07/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Unwarranted Hysterectomies : A Growing Health Scandal     

Unwarranted Hysterectomies : A Growing Health Scandal     

A study commissioned by the National Health Authority (NHA) of India has recently (Economic Times Report dated July 22, 2019) red-flagged claims made for hysterectomies conducted in private hospitals in at least six states, under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) scheme. It has sought more caution and tighter scrutiny of such claims under the Modi government’s flagship programme[Read More…]

by 30/07/2019 2 comments Life/Philosophy
A tale of two positives attracting each other

A tale of two positives attracting each other

I met the two of them at the Clinica Condesa Iztapalapa, in Mexico City, where I had gone to attend the 10th IAS Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2019). Was it a mere coincidence that they had many things in common – they share the same surname; they speak fluent English; they neither drink nor smoke nor are on drugs;[Read More…]

by 29/07/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Writing’s on the wall: No #endAIDS without #endTB

Writing’s on the wall: No #endAIDS without #endTB

TB and HIV both are preventable, but cutting the chain of transmission of HIV and TB is proving to be a daunting task. Treatment exists for both TB and HIV but disease-burden and deaths every year are indeed alarming. With countdown on towards TB and AIDS elimination targets for 2030, the writing on the wall is clear: business as usual[Read More…]

by 27/07/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Achieving 100:100:100 + zero HIV transmission is must to #endAIDS

Achieving 100:100:100 + zero HIV transmission is must to #endAIDS

It has been 38 years and 1 month since the first case of HIV infection was detected in 1981, reminded Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the 10th IAS Conference on HIV Science (#IAS2019) taking place in Mexico City. Dr Fauci is a recipient of Robert Koch Award and US Presidential[Read More…]

by 24/07/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Preventing TB is a critical cog in the wheel to #endTB and #endAIDS

Preventing TB is a critical cog in the wheel to #endTB and #endAIDS

Every case of active tuberculosis (TB) disease comes from an individual with latent TB infection. And every new case of latent TB infection is a sign of failing infection control, as someone with active TB disease transmitted the bacteria to an uninfected person. Quarter of world’s population has latent TB. TB continues to be the most common opportunistic infection among[Read More…]

by 22/07/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
An Indian child arrives in a hospital due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) as family members react in Muzaffarpur on June 10, 2019. - At least 14 children have died due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) while over a dozen are admitted in hospitals. (Photo by STR / AFP)

Killing Fields of Indian Healthcare

“Medicine is a social science and politics is nothing else but medicine on a large scale”. Rudolf Virchow, 1821-1902 In recent days India’s health system – never the world’s best – has been getting really bad press. First it was negative publicity was over a week of agitation by thousands of doctors in Bengal after violence against them by families[Read More…]

by 27/06/2019 1 comment India
Innovative MACH gives hope for multi-disciplinary global health response

Innovative MACH gives hope for multi-disciplinary global health response

Although 193 governments adopted UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which warrant an integrated and multisectoral response to deliver on those promises, the progress has been lackadaisical in the past four years. A recent UN report has set an alarm on uneven progress on some SDGs and slipping on a few of the Global Goals in Asia Pacific region. Coordinated multisectoral[Read More…]

by 20/06/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
America’s Medical Apartheid

America’s Medical Apartheid

By Richard Gale and Gary Null About a decade ago, my late colleague Dr. Martin Feldman and I were invited to be keynote speakers at a conference on anti-aging and alternative medicine in Chicago. The hall was packed with several thousand clinicians, physicians, medical professors, scientific researchers and doctors of non-conventional medical disciplines who were interested in the latest anti-aging[Read More…]

by 20/06/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
New milestone for improved treatment for children with TB

New milestone for improved treatment for children with TB

(CNS): More and more children around the world are now benefitting from fixed dose combination (FDC) of child-friendly medicines to treat drug-sensitive TB, thanks to the untiring efforts of TB Alliance (Global Alliance for TB Drug Development) and its partners including World Health Organization (WHO), for making these drugs go from development to delivery stage. TB Alliance proudly announced at[Read More…]

by 18/06/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Are we on track to #endmalaria?

Are we on track to #endmalaria?

This year’s World Malaria Day theme, “Zero Malaria Starts With Me” re-energizes the fight to eliminate malaria which, despite being preventable and treatable, still kills over half a million people every year. While incredible progress has been made in the past 15 years (with over 7 million malaria deaths averted and about 40% reduction in malaria globally), the fight against[Read More…]

by 23/04/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Antibiotic-Resistance: Mystery Killer Spans the Globe

Antibiotic-Resistance: Mystery Killer Spans the Globe

Public health experts have been warning for decades that overuse of antibiotics reduces the effectiveness of drugs that cure bacterial infections. At least 2,000,000 Americans get antibiotic-resistant infections per year. Notably, gluttonous overuse of antimicrobial drugs to combat bacteria and fungi via hospitals, clinics, and farms is backfiring and producing superbugs or “Nightmare Bacteria,” which is especially lethal for people[Read More…]

by 13/04/2019 1 comment World
Feeling blue

India’s Grey Clouds of Depression

Among the many challenges India faces, the most underappreciated is the ongoing mental health crisis. Mental illness is actually India’s ticking bomb. An estimated 56 million Indians suffer from depression, and 38 million from anxiety disorders. For those who   suffer from   mental illness, life can seem like a terrible prison from which there is no hope of escape; they are left forlorn and abandoned,[Read More…]

by 26/03/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
It’s Time to bend the curve sharply to #endTB

It’s Time to bend the curve sharply to #endTB

Co-Written by Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant Although governments of 193 countries had promised way back in 2015 to end tuberculosis (TB) by 2030, the global annual rate of TB decline since then has been much less than what is required. The rate of TB decline which is currently hovering around 1.5%, should catapult to over 10% by 2025 globally,[Read More…]

by 22/03/2019 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
The Embarassing state of Kerala’s maternal health care: effect of the Kerala model

The Embarassing state of Kerala’s maternal health care: effect of the Kerala model

Health system in India has seen several incongruities since its independence. Public health expenditure, inspite of repeated promises in election manifestos as well as in policy documents towards raising it to 2.5 to 3 % of GDP, remains around 1 to 2 %. The the existing health care infrastructure is flawed and inadequate; the hospitals are under-staffed, under-financed compelling the[Read More…]

by 14/03/2019 3 comments Life/Philosophy
Business as usual will fail us on cancer control, SDGs

Business as usual will fail us on cancer control, SDGs

193 governments including those of India, committed to reducing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancers by 25% by 2025 and one-third by 2030 (UN Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs), but many cancer rates are rising, not declining, especially in several high burden countries. Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally (cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the top[Read More…]

by 04/02/2019 1 comment Life/Philosophy
It’s Time: Match words with actions to #endTB

It’s Time: Match words with actions to #endTB

Alongside boosting research and development of new tools to prevent, diagnose and treat TB, there is an acute need to optimally deploy and maximally utilize existing tools for preventing, diagnosing and treating TB, says Dr Nguyen Viet Nhung, head of national TB programme in Vietnam and Director of National Lung Hospital, Hanoi. Dr Nhung was conferred upon the ‘Honorary Associate[Read More…]

by 17/12/2018 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Chronic Kidney Diseases In Narasinghpur, Odisha

Chronic Kidney Diseases In Narasinghpur, Odisha

A large number of people in all 157 villages of 33 Gram Panchayat of Narasingpurblock in Cuttack district are continuously suffering from Chronic Kidney Diseases (CKD). The patients are also continuously dying because of lack of proper treatment.The government of Odisha has closed its eyes from this epidemic like situation. On 17t – 18th November, 2017 a seven-members’team of Ganatantrik[Read More…]

by 20/11/2018 2 comments India
Through the haze, a better democracy

Through the haze, a better democracy

Although you wouldn’t know it from the rhetoric and actions of the Trump Administration, the U.S. is part of the global society. And while most of the U.S. was focused on a Supreme Court nomination that shook our democratic institutions, a watershed moment for democracy quietly took place half a world away. For those in the U.S. seeking evidence that[Read More…]

by 19/10/2018 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Why Don’t We Talk About Mental Health?

Why Don’t We Talk About Mental Health?

World Mental Health Day-10 October 2018 Among the many challenges India faces, the most underappreciated is the ongoing mental health crisis.  Mental illness is actually India’s ticking bomb .The National Mental Health Survey of India (2016), the largest exercise to count the numbers of those affected by mental disorders, reported that one of every ten adults experiences a clinically significant[Read More…]

by 03/10/2018 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Is it the final countdown to #endTB?

Is it the final countdown to #endTB?

  (CNS): The world’s eyes and ears are expectantly focussed on the forthcoming first-ever UN High Level Meeting (UNHLM) to #endTB: “United to End TB: An Urgent Global Response to a Global Epidemic.” The global TB community is hailing this as a landmark opportunity to marshal political will and resources to end TB by 2030. Will this meeting actually turn[Read More…]

by 24/09/2018 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
AAP Govt.’s Mohalla Clinics-A Revolution in Health Care Services

AAP Govt.’s Mohalla Clinics-A Revolution in Health Care Services

Mohalla Clinics are primary health centres in the state of New Delhi in India, that offer a basic package of essential health services including medicines, diagnostics, and consultation free of cost.Mohalla in Hindi means neighborhood or community. These clinics serve as the first point of contact for the population, offer timely services, and reduce the load of referrals to secondary[Read More…]

by 20/09/2018 Comments are Disabled India
People waiting to get registered at Motihari District Government Hospital in East Champaran, Bihar. With so few doctors employed to work in the public sector of healthcare in India, this scene is typical.

India’s Native Grass Root Health Revolution

Women are not dying because of diseases we cannot treat…They are dying because societies have yet to make the decision that their lives are worth saving – Mahmoud Fathalla, Chair of the WHO Advisory Committee on Health Research Inclusive growth is now perhaps the strongest buzzword in development discourse. We have all been talking about growth without understanding that development[Read More…]

by 20/09/2018 Comments are Disabled India
Poor Indians turning guinea pigs for greedy pharmaceutical firms

Poor Indians turning guinea pigs for greedy pharmaceutical firms

“ A Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) used dignified language to explain the criminality of an American company and support to it by corrupt Indian officials. “They are murders. But we call ‘deaths’ before enquiry and ‘killings’ in conclusion.  Most surprising is we do not even give exact number of children killed, we simply say some deaths. This is trivialisation of[Read More…]

by 05/08/2018 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
What is Unreal, What is Real and the Vaccine Scare

What is Unreal, What is Real and the Vaccine Scare

In a few weeks time, school will resume in many countries, and quite a few parents now worry about the dangers of vaccination.  Are they real or false?  What are the facts? First, a word on what we can believe to be real.  Some might remember Ripley’s Believe It or Not?  We are all fascinated by the odd, the unusual,[Read More…]

by 05/08/2018 Comments are Disabled World
Where are the nurses in the HIV response?

Where are the nurses in the HIV response?

(CNS): Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, nurses have been at the forefront of the response to this once fatal infection. The nurse is involved at every stage of the trajectory of a person living with HIV—from usually being the first to counsel the newly diagnosed person, to one of the last to be with him/her at the point[Read More…]

by 31/07/2018 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Darker side of private hospitals

Darker side of private hospitals

( “ If a heart patient knows the actual cost of the cardiac stent, he will realise how much the hospital looted him. He should be strong enough to withstand the shock.  We don’t know how many suffered heart attack after knowing this exploitation. One small lawyer has to fight against this injustice. Where are the great doctors? Don’t they[Read More…]

by 01/07/2018 1 comment Life/Philosophy
When Cuban Polyclinics Were Born

When Cuban Polyclinics Were Born

As discontent increases with overly expensive and totally inadequate US health care, it is time to look closely at the beginnings of the modern Cuban medical system. Like the US, Cuba had unintegrated, overlapping medical institutions that failed the poor, especially black, population of the island. Though several European countries have developed health care systems about 40% cheaper than the[Read More…]

by 22/06/2018 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Before We Are All Crippled Beyond Recognition

Before We Are All Crippled Beyond Recognition

“Things are going in the wrong direction and have to get back on track before something terrible happens,” said Gregory Hartl, a W.H.O. spokesman. “So we’re saying to the Pakistanis, the Syrians and the Cameroonians, ‘You’ve really got to get your acts together.’ ” — from a 2014 article in the New York Times Things have gotten infinitely worse since[Read More…]

by 18/06/2018 1 comment World
Donating yourself – The tortuous journey to donate your organs

Donating yourself – The tortuous journey to donate your organs

The Finance minister , Shri Arun Jaitley underwent a kidney transplant operation successfully recently, following in the footsteps of Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, the External Affairs Minister in 2016. Even as he recovers from the surgery, the transplant has brought into focus, the lives of lakhs of people  living in the shadows – those who are waiting, often for years for[Read More…]

by 26/05/2018 3 comments Life/Philosophy
Rare Disease Hits Livelihood of Horse Cart Riders

Rare Disease Hits Livelihood of Horse Cart Riders

Mohammad Gulzar (48), a resident of Nai Basti, Jamia Nagar, was a small time horse cart rider, until a few months ago. He earned enough to feed his family. But a rare disease to his horse Glanders affected his livelihood badly. After wandering for days in search of work, he now works as a laborer, hardly managing to garner two[Read More…]

by 13/05/2018 1 comment India
People waiting to get registered at Motihari District Government Hospital in East Champaran, Bihar. With so few doctors employed to work in the public sector of healthcare in India, this scene is typical.

Moving on from Primary Health Care

Primary health care is an important strategy which is the backbone of health service delivery. Primary health care is the day-to-day care needed to protect, maintain, or restore our health. For those who use it, it is both their first point of contact with the government healthcare system and their most frequently used health service. In last 6 decades of[Read More…]

by 11/05/2018 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Fluorosis: A Problem of Serious  Dimensions, But Neglected By All Political  Parties

Fluorosis: A Problem of Serious  Dimensions, But Neglected By All Political  Parties

     –A Review  By FMRRC, Karnataka Over 10 crore people in the country are getting water contaminated with excess fluoride : Most stunning  admission by government.  But it is not on the agenda of  political parties. Karnataka Assembly elections are slated for May 12, and the major parties issued their manifestos, a formality completed very late. They promise many things[Read More…]

by 10/05/2018 2 comments Life/Philosophy
People waiting to get registered at Motihari District Government Hospital in East Champaran, Bihar. With so few doctors employed to work in the public sector of healthcare in India, this scene is typical.

India’s Public Health Crisis

  Indian economy has made rapid strides in recent year but its abysmal health system remains an Achilles heel has impeded millions of people from sharing the gains of India’s new prosperity   India has a laggardly record in its healthcare coverage. In per capita terms, adjusted for purchasing power, the public expenditure on health is $43 a year, compared to[Read More…]

by 24/04/2018 2 comments Life/Philosophy
Photo by hepingting

The Dialectic of Autism

The term dialectic as it is used here is a way of looking at the world that corresponds to the actual structure of the world itself without regard to whether that word is holographic or material.  Put in more philosophical terms, it is an epistemological assumption about the ontological structure of being.  Hegel will write a book about it called[Read More…]

by 10/04/2018 1 comment Life/Philosophy
DNA—Capitalism’s Genetic Scapegoat

DNA—Capitalism’s Genetic Scapegoat

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) web page falsely states that “genetic factors…have a role in causing”… obesity. https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/resources/diseases/obes Obesity which is responsible for the diabetes epidemic kills thousands every year.  Other established medical authorities such as the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic state on their web pages that the causes of obesity include genetics.  The CDC also says[Read More…]

by 17/03/2018 1 comment Life/Philosophy
 Addressing Adiposity

 Addressing Adiposity

  “You can’t deal with obesity without dealing with poverty and nutrition, and too few educators and parents are getting those connections. It’s not enough to put food on the table and exercise.” — One of the author’s home schooled teens First thing I’d like the reader to do is to calculate her or his BMI, using the National Institute[Read More…]

by 03/03/2018 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ( SIDS ) Is A Phenomenon That Is Worldwide And Heart-Breaking

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome ( SIDS ) Is A Phenomenon That Is Worldwide And Heart-Breaking

“ We do not put new-born babies to sleep on their tummies,” said the lady in the day care centre we had visited in the US. “We rule out the possibility of obstruction of the upper airways and suffocation due to a roll up of the sheet in the crib. Plus today it’s a mandatory rule enforced by the government.”[Read More…]

People waiting to get registered at Motihari District Government Hospital in East Champaran, Bihar. With so few doctors employed to work in the public sector of healthcare in India, this scene is typical.

India’s Sick Health Care

  India’s economy is soaring but its healthcare system remains an Achilles’ heel. For millions of people, the high cost of treating illness continues to undermine economic progress. This is largely on account of the abysmal and chaotic healthcare system owing to the declining budgetary healthcare support by the government. India now ranks close to the bottom of the pile[Read More…]

by 21/12/2017 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Give Some Place In Your Heart For Kidneys! Please!

Give Some Place In Your Heart For Kidneys! Please!

  Heard so much about the heart, but so less about kidneys, right? Our kidneys don’t get a lot of love, and definitely don’t get the attention or concern associated with other major organs like our heart, liver, and lungs. Kidneys are the unsung organs of public health campaigns. We know how to care for our hearts (exercise and eating well)[Read More…]

by 01/12/2017 2 comments Life/Philosophy
State Hospitals’ Neglect Aggravate The Crisis In AIIMS

State Hospitals’ Neglect Aggravate The Crisis In AIIMS

The number of people sitting outside AIIMS, waiting to be treated, reflects the grim reality of health sector in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, etc. “I am counting the last days of my life, along with waiting to get operated; whichever comes soon will end my ordeal,” said attendance Mishra from West Champaran district of Bihar. He visited countless[Read More…]

by 22/11/2017 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Interrogating Our Public Health Care System

Interrogating Our Public Health Care System

Co-Written by Jitamanyu Sahoo & Monis Ahmad The repetition of the ghastly episode were 49 children died in Farrukhabad at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital this September is nothing but a reflection of our health inequities that is deep rooted in our public healthcare system. In all 19 children died during delivery and 30 children at the hospital’s unit for newborns,[Read More…]

by 11/10/2017 1 comment India
India Can’t Afford To Ignore Mental Health

India Can’t Afford To Ignore Mental Health

(World Mental Health Day -10th October 2017) According to an India Spend report, the number of Indians suffering from mental illness exceeds that of the population of South Africa. At present, the mentally ill account for nearly 6.5 percent of the country’s population and it is estimated that by 2020 this number will increase to a staggering 20 percent. Further, the[Read More…]

by 09/10/2017 1 comment India
Alzheimer’s Burden On Families

Alzheimer’s Burden On Families

  What can be more ironic and catastrophic when a renowned linguist loses her language altogether,as the deadly Alzheimer’s disease (AD) fiercely ravages her brain? That is what did happen to Alice Howland, a professor and a linguistics expert at Columbia University, New York. Initially, it started with her inability to remember the word ‘lexicon’ while giving a lecture. From[Read More…]

by 23/09/2017 Comments are Disabled Life/Philosophy
Responsibility For The “Opioid Epidemic”–Corruption, Collusion And Criminal Negligence

Responsibility For The “Opioid Epidemic”–Corruption, Collusion And Criminal Negligence

     The American Medical Association (A.M.A.) has an electronic news bulletin, “AMA Morning Rounds”– It reads, “The AMA promotes the art and science of medicine and the betterment of Public Health.” The AMA has regular reports on the opioid epidemic such as the Sept 2, 2017 report: “The First Count of “Fentanyl Deaths in 2016: Up 540% in Three Years.”[Read More…]

by 13/09/2017 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Patients Before Profit: Public vs Private , The Debate In Karnataka

Patients Before Profit: Public vs Private , The Debate In Karnataka

Affordable health care is now becoming increasingly inaccessible to the poor and lower middle classes in India, given the drive to privatization in all parts of the social sector.  Sally Ogun, a patient’s rights activist from America says, “The provision of health care … is part of a social contract, one that assures citizens access to the tools they need[Read More…]

by 06/07/2017 1 comment India
People waiting to get registered at Motihari District Government Hospital in East Champaran, Bihar. With so few doctors employed to work in the public sector of healthcare in India, this scene is typical.

India’s Healthcare System Needs An Overhaul

A report published by Forbes on 11 September 2014 still stands true as not much has changed in the access to healthcare in India. According to World Health Organization’s 2000 World Health Report ranking India’s healthcare system at 112 out of 190 countries. The below paragraph is based on a friend’s recent experience when he was spending time and energy for the treatment of his[Read More…]

by 09/06/2017 1 comment India
An Open Letter To People With ‘Mental Health’ Issues

An Open Letter To People With ‘Mental Health’ Issues

  As ‘mental health’ issues gain more attention, sympathetic and otherwise, in a wide variety of contexts and countries around the world, the opportunity for inaccurate perceptions of what causes these issues, and how to treat them, are likewise expanded. So if you or someone you know is supposed to have a ‘mental illness’ such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive[Read More…]

by 02/06/2017 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Tobacco Endgame Is Critical ‘Cog In The Wheel’ For Sustainable Development

Tobacco Endgame Is Critical ‘Cog In The Wheel’ For Sustainable Development

Although governments have promised sustainable development by 2030 by adopting UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but tobacco triggered pandemics threaten to stall or even reverse the progress made. Tobacco is a major risk factor of killer non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardio-vascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, among others. In addition to devastating health, tobacco is also linked to poverty,[Read More…]

by 01/06/2017 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Connecting ‘Silos’: Interdependence Is Key To #EndTB in Sustainable Development Era

Connecting ‘Silos’: Interdependence Is Key To #EndTB in Sustainable Development Era

  (CNS): When major weak-spots go beyond the purview of health ministry, inter-sectoral programming becomes critical to progress towards ending tuberculosis (TB) by 2030, globally. Indian government has committed to end TB by 2025 – a welcome political commitment indeed – but warrants urgent and unprecedented actions to muscle up the required pace to keep this promise. As our governments[Read More…]

by 22/05/2017 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Ä


Cleaning Up The Air We Breathe

(CNS): My first personal brush with the severity of asthma was several years ago, when one of my students suddenly started gasping for breath in the middle of her Physics Practical final examination of Class 12. We were clueless about the cause of her sudden affliction. Other than making her sit in the open air and force her to drink[Read More…]

by 21/05/2017 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Socio-Political and Economic Aspects Of Fluorosis

Socio-Political and Economic Aspects Of Fluorosis

A Presentation made at XL Indian Social Science Congress, Dec 19-23, 2016, University of Mysore, Mysuru , focused on PEOPLES HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN INDIA. It was widely appreciated as one focussing on a key problem faced by vast masses of India, neglected by all the (un-)concerned agencies

by 17/04/2017 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Inter-Sectoral And Well-Coordinated Battle To #endTB Is Imperative To Deliver On Agenda 2030

Inter-Sectoral And Well-Coordinated Battle To #endTB Is Imperative To Deliver On Agenda 2030

(CNS): Growing political commitment of governments globally to #endTB is indeed welcoming but governments need to walk the talk too to #endTB and deliver on promises of integrated sustainable development by 2030. Reality check on any specific indicator to show progress made towards ending TB will raise serious concerns regarding meeting these commitments in a timely manner. For example, TB[Read More…]

by 06/04/2017 1 comment Life/Philosophy
 Decolonisation Of “Modern Medical System: The Need To March Towards People Oriented Holistic System

 Decolonisation Of “Modern Medical System: The Need To March Towards People Oriented Holistic System

Text of a Speech circulated on Dec24, 2016, at XL Indian Social Science Congress Organized by Indian Social Sciences Academy(ISSA) , held from 19th Dec. 2016 and 24th Dec. 2016, in collaboration with University of Mysore, Mysuru, Karnataka

by 06/04/2017 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Curing Parkinson’s Will Take More Than Hope

Curing Parkinson’s Will Take More Than Hope

I first learned I had Parkinson’s Disease (PD) in 2007. It is a disorder that kills off brain cells that make dopamine — a substance the body needs to control movement, speaking, swallowing and a multitude of other functions. PD afflicts over 1 million people in the U.S. and millions more worldwide. At present, there is no cure and a[Read More…]

by 08/02/2017 1 comment Life/Philosophy
World Cancer Day: Ensure The Right Treatment At The Right Time To Every Patient

World Cancer Day: Ensure The Right Treatment At The Right Time To Every Patient

(CNS): Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide. In 2012, there were an estimated 1.8 million new lung cancer cases (13% of all cancers diagnosed), and 1.59 million deaths (19.4% of the total cancer deaths). According to the latest cancer registry data released by the Indian Council of Medical Research, 0.114 million new lung cancer cases (83,000 in males[Read More…]

by 01/02/2017 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Can Commons Thinking Drive A New Health System?

Can Commons Thinking Drive A New Health System?

Cat Johnson: What would it take to move from planetary imbalance into a state of sustained health and healing? In a recent report, Jamie Harvie, Executive Director of the Institute for a Sustainable Future and founder of the Commons Health Network, argues that we need a new health system, one based on a “profound appreciation of the complexity and interconnectedness of life across[Read More…]

by 14/01/2017 1 comment Counter Solutions
Cities Of Sickness: Pollution, Dementia And The Modern Condition

Cities Of Sickness: Pollution, Dementia And The Modern Condition

London: The journey from Tooting to the British Library tends to be a crowded affair at the best of times.  Humans mash in ungainly fashion on the London Underground, though not mosh, as they tend to in Tokyo under almost brutal supervision. In the course of the walk, a breakfast of muffins and takeaway coffee is flavoured by furious fume blasts[Read More…]

by 07/01/2017 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Social And Economic Causes Of Disease: Health And Political Consciousness

Social And Economic Causes Of Disease: Health And Political Consciousness

  Many of us are aware that the leading cause of death in the US during the first half of the 20th Century was due to infectious diseases.  On the other hand there is a general lack of understanding that these diseases were eliminated for the most part, by Public Health disease prevention strategies, such as clean water, sewage treatment[Read More…]

by 14/12/2016 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Winning The Malaria War Without Vaccines

Winning The Malaria War Without Vaccines

For over 10 years now Eritrea, a small country in East Africa, has been winning the Malaria War without vaccines, though much work remains to be done. Since 2005 I have been monitoring the reduction in Malaria mortality here in Eritrea and have seen a consistant reduction of between 70-80%, something almost unknown in Africa and the rest of the[Read More…]

by 30/11/2016 2 comments World
People waiting to get registered at Motihari District Government Hospital in East Champaran, Bihar. With so few doctors employed to work in the public sector of healthcare in India, this scene is typical.

Health Impoverishment: Has India’s Healthcare System Privatised Enough?

Ratna Devi and her nine year old daughter Seema (names changed) came to AIIMS, New Delhi with a large tumor over Seema’s knee. The tumor was not a new discovery and had been thriving on the little girl like a blood sucking leech for the last one year. An enquiry revealed that the family was from Rajasthan, around four hundred[Read More…]

by 18/08/2016 3 comments India
 Sugar-Coated Lies: How The Food Lobby Destroys Health In The EU 

 Sugar-Coated Lies: How The Food Lobby Destroys Health In The EU 

Over half the population of the European Union (EU) is overweight or obese. Without effective action, this number will grow substantially in the next decade warns an important new report. ‘A Spoonful of Sugar: How the Food Lobby Fights Sugar Regulation in the EU’, by the research and campaign group Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), notes that obesity rates are rising fastest[Read More…]

by 29/07/2016 2 comments Life/Philosophy
Integrated TB-HIV Responses Are A Must To Meet Sustainable Development Goals

Integrated TB-HIV Responses Are A Must To Meet Sustainable Development Goals

(CNS): At the 2015 United Nations General Assembly, governments committed to achieve SDGs by 2030, one of which is to end AIDS and TB by 2030. If people living with HIV continue to die of TB, we will not only fail to achieve SDGs but also lose gains made in the fights against HIV and TB. Keeping in mind the[Read More…]

by 27/07/2016 1 comment Life/Philosophy
 Self-Stigma: Let Us Do More Than Just ‘Talk About It’

 Self-Stigma: Let Us Do More Than Just ‘Talk About It’

Senior HIV activists who have not only helped shape HIV responses on the ground over the years, but also have been living with the virus for several years, shared their personal battle against self-stigma at a press conference session hosted by The Work For Change (www.theworkforchange.org) and partners at the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) held in Durban, South[Read More…]

by 25/07/2016 1 comment Life/Philosophy
Battling With Three Diseases And Still Going Strong

Battling With Three Diseases And Still Going Strong

(Based on an exclusive interview given by Nqobile Zungu, and her doctor Dr Samele Madela to CNS – Citizen News Service) I met 37 years old Nqobile Zungu, at the 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) that is being held in Durban. And yes, her looks were deceptive in the sense that one could never guess that her outwardly healthy[Read More…]

by 23/07/2016 1 comment Life/Philosophy
International AIDS Conferences: From Durban To Durban – Has Anything Changed In 16 Years?

International AIDS Conferences: From Durban To Durban – Has Anything Changed In 16 Years?

  AIDS 2016, the XXI International AIDS Conference – (with the theme of ‘Access Equity Rights Now’) which will be held in Durban, South Africa, from 18 to 22 July 2016, marks a dramatic change in the country’s AIDS response in the 16 years since XIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2000), which was also held in Durban “When Nelson Mandela[Read More…]

by 14/07/2016 1 comment Life/Philosophy
MDR-TB Treatment Regimen: Short Indeed Is Effective

MDR-TB Treatment Regimen: Short Indeed Is Effective

    WHO recently announced new recommendations to speed up diagnosis and improve treatment outcomes for multi drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) through the use of a novel rapid diagnostic test called MTBDRsl, and a shorter, cheaper 9-12 month treatment regimen. The new treatment regimen can be completed in 9-12 months— less than half the time required by the current 24-month[Read More…]

by 08/07/2016 1 comment Uncategorized
Counter-Thinking  BP :What Is Normal Blood Pressure?

Counter-Thinking  BP :What Is Normal Blood Pressure?

    “When people cheat in any arena, they diminish themselves-they threaten their own self-esteem and their relationships with others by undermining the trust they have in their ability to succeed and in their ability to be true.” – Cheryl Hughes I have been wondering about this normal blood pressure for the last sixty years ever since I joined the  MBBS class[Read More…]

by 26/06/2016 2 comments Life/Philosophy
Towards A TB Free India: It Cannot Be A Lone Battle

Towards A TB Free India: It Cannot Be A Lone Battle

  (CNS): India carries the highest global burden of TB – a curable disease that kills one Indian every 90 seconds. There are 2.2 million new cases of TB in the country every year, out of which an estimated 71,000 cases are of multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB). This curable disease kills 110,000 HIV-associated TB cases also emerging annually in India,[Read More…]

by 25/06/2016 Comments are Disabled Uncategorized