Billion-dollar plan Almost as if to make up for the lost Trump year during the pandemic, the White House has put together an ambitious new plan with a $65.3 billion price tag that could transform the way the United States responds to pandemics by vastly accelerating vaccine development, testing, and production. But is the plan […]
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A discussion on health matters ahead of 2019 elections
India is battling a full-blown health crisis and the above-mentioned conclusion by a Lancet study should be treated as a warning to our policymakers. Research reveals a dangerously rapid epidemiological transition and a rising burden of non-communicable diseases. “Until the federal government in India takes health as seriously as many other nations do, India will […]
Child healthcare needs a boost
Recent figures reveal a huge gap in child healthcare in India, at a time when experts warn of the vulnerabilities of young people to COVID-19 in a looming third wave. Experts expressed misgivings about a severe deficit in child healthcare at primary health centres and community health centres. Per data shared by a parliamentary standing […]
Global health today: Tedros, COVID in Indonesia, and a million more COVID cases by 2022?
This is the first in a series of newsletters, offering the expert insight of Lalita Panicker – consulting editor, views, Hindustan Times, New Delhi – into some of the most pressing health issues of the day. Another term for Tedros? To use a well-worn cliché, the Director-General (DG) of the World Health Organization (WHO) is […]
Landmark IPCC report reaffirms knowledge of climate threats and offers stark warnings
The UN’s latest major climate report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides stark warnings of what it describes as the ‘code red’ situation humanity is facing through the effects of anthropogenically-influenced global warming. The comprehensive IPCC WG1 is the latest IPCC report since 2013 when the Fifth Assessment report was published. […]
AMR: The silent, parallel pandemic
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a “silent pandemic”, commentators argue, as experts argue for a harmonised approach to mitigate the damage. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed substantially to the AMR crisis, with the prescription of antibiotics for the treatment of those affected by COVID-19 contributing to an increase in AMR cases. This is a […]
Routine vaccinations took a hit in the pandemic: Jonathan Mosser explains why
The COVID-19 pandemic cost at least seventeen million children routine vaccinations, recent research from The Lancet shows. According to the research, “routine immunisation services faced stark challenges in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic causing the most widespread and largest global disruption in recent history.” Senior author and Assistant Professor from the Institute for Health Metrics […]
Global hunger spiked during the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic witnessed a spike in global hunger, according to a fresh report from the United Nations (UN). According to the organisation, “there was a dramatic worsening of world hunger in 2020…much of it likely related to the fallout of COVID-19. While the pandemic’s impact has yet to be fully mapped, a multi-agency report […]
Zoonoses: Preserving biodiversity is the key
This week marked an importance observance which went overlooked by large swathes of the media, including this publication. World Zoonoses Day took place on July 6th, coinciding with the anniversary of the first rabies vaccine administered by French biologist Dr Louis Pasteur in 1885. Zoonoses, as explained by the World Health Organization (WHO), refer to […]
AYUSH Ministry hits back at paper on Giloy herb
Criticism has been raised by the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) against a paper claiming to link the Ayurvedic herb Tinospora cordifolia (TC) — also known as giloy — to liver disease. While the paper, published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology — a peer-reviewed journal […]