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Almost a third of India’s registered doctors do not practice anymore. More worryingly, more than half of the registered nurses in India do not practice anymore. In a country with poor health indicators, the seeming disappearance of a large chunk of the qualified medical workforce is a worrying statistic. Read more about this union health […]

Following on from my post last week on the same issue; here’s a short TV news story on CNN-IBN, one of the most watched news channels in India.  It is a seemingly damning report  and most drug companies apart from one refused  comment.

Another piece of shocking news on the regulation of drug retail in India.  Even though the fact that drugs banned in other markets are being openly sold in the country requires urgent redressal, other issues such as the lack of control over the sale of antibiotics also require greater scrutiny and public debate.  Read more […]

Readers following the Nexavar compulsory licensing story will know that multi-national pharma companies had expected the US to defend their patents. In fact, as the SpicyIP blog notes, the US reaction has been muted. US trade policy is a complex issue but this does seem a surprisingly calm reaction from the world’s foremost protector of […]

This press release talks about an interesting new development in India’s Meghalaya State where the IFC and DfID are helping extend health insurance to all.  What’s really interesting about this is that private sector participation is integral to the model.  Of course, only time will tell how the scheme develops but in a country with […]

A dismal statistic in today’s Hindu: India has the highest number of deaths due to premature births and also ranks 36th in the list of pre-term births globally. With more than three time the premature deaths than second-placed China, India also lags far behind many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in this vital health indicator. What […]

This editorial published by the Hindu states that the government has to become more serious about raising awareness on TB. It says that educating doctors about correct drug regimens and testing protocols should be done and that there should be an increase in  the number of drug-resistance testing centres . To read more please click […]

There are strong rumours going around the capital that the Health Minister may resign as he wants to work for the party rather than the government (see this column by an immensely respected political commentator in a leading daily).  It would be interesting to see who the beleaguered UPA puts up as his replacement (if the rumours are […]

This is World Immunisation Week. There have been a couple of good stories on the terrible death toll among children in India but there is no scandal, no outcry. According to a very strong Press Trust of India piece, there is a death from pneumonia somewhere in the world every 20 seconds. Too many of […]

An interesting article in today’s Times of India, with a worrying statistic that seven out of every 10 deaths due to cancer in India is in the 30-69 age group, a far higher percentage than countries in the West that have a higher prevalence of cancer. Read more here