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Colistin ban in food sector over drug resistance concerns

India’s food production sector has been banned from using the antibiotic colistin, over concerns about its misuse potentially fuelling drug resistance.  According to a 2009 study, “colistin is…being used increasingly as a ‘last-line’ therapy to treat infections caused by [multi-drug-resistant] Gram-negative bacteria, when essentially no other options are available.” Yet concerns are growing that, in …

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Commercial surrogacy crackdown planned by the Government

The Centre has introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to ban commercial surrogacy – part of an ongoing effort to crack down on the practise, with the goal of stopping women being exploited.  The bill, if passed, would severely restrict opportunities for surrogacy. Couples, of women aged between 23 and fifty and men aged …

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President Kovind praises Ayushman Bharat

President Ram Nath Kovind has praised the Centre’s flagship health insurance initiative Ayushman Bharat, touting the number of people who have availed the benefits of the scheme thus far. During an address before a joint parliamentary session, President Kovind said the scheme had made a significant contribution to reducing the catastrophic out-of-pocket spending on health …

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Kerala corrects the record on Ayushman Bharat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted the Kerala state government to implement its healthcare initiative, Ayushman Bharat. But the state has insisted on correcting the record. “Kerala is part of Ayushman Bharat scheme,” asserted the state’s Health Minister K. K. Shailaja. “An MoU [memorandum of understanding] was signed on November 2, 2018, and measures have already …

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Raising the retirement age of doctors

Punjab has announced it may raise the age at which government doctors may retire in a bid to address the state’s shortage of doctors. The doctor-patient ratio in Punjab was actually ranked as one of the best in India in September last year. The Times of India reported that Punjab had one medico for every …

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The end of e-cigarettes: Misplaced priorities in the war on tobacco products?

E-cigarettes and e-hookah could become unattainable in India as long-standing efforts by the Centre to ban them amidst the war on tobacco products seem on the cusp of bearing fruit.  The Drug and Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) has cleared the way for the prohibition of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). This has been a pet …

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Mohalla Clinics vs. Ayushman Bharat: The war over health models

After a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has shifted its focus to Delhi, which goes to polls in a year. Riding on a saffron surge across the Hindi heartland, the BJP has decided to combat its biggest adversary in the state, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with its development policies. Surprisingly, …

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Andhra Pradesh gives ASHAs a boon

Since assuming the post of Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh following this year’s Legislative Assembly election in the state, Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy has made healthcare a priority. One action he has taken is a hike in the wages of the state’s community health workers. Accredited social health activists (ASHAs) staff India’s healthcare system in …

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Nipah virus outbreak: Six test negative, containment efforts ongoing

Six people suspected of infection with the Nipah virus have been given the all-clear as containment efforts continue. Authorities confirmed a second outbreak of the disease in the state of Kerala after a 23-year-old college student tested positive for the virus during an initial examination. The aftermath saw a swift response by state health authorities, …

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World Environment Day highlights a health crisis

World Environment Day is observed annually on June 5th to commemorate the importance of conserving our environment from the many threats it faces. For India, World Environment Day offers a valuable opportunity to recognise one of the major issues confronting the nation: its poor environmental health, ranked as the worst in the world in the …

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