Child Healthcare

Achieving a 'Bimari Mukt Bharat' or disease-free India is important for realising the goal of 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047, feels social activist and entrepreneur Dr Swapna Verma, who is spearheading a project to deliver tech-enabled diagnostic services at the doorsteps of rural and tribal communities. Verma was among the 10 'pathbreakers' whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi met earlier this month during the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders' Dialogue-2025. Hailing from Satna district in Madhya Pradesh, Verma is the founder of the Madhurima Sewa Sanskar Sansthan. During the young leaders' dialogue at the National Youth Festival, Verma outlined her organisation's flagship project -- 'Heal Rural India' -- before the prime minister, highlighting the scalability of the initiative. Recounting her first meeting with Modi, Verma, who is also part of the Madhya Pradesh BJP unit, said the prime minister asked her how the 'Heal Rural India' project can help make 'Bharat' become 'Bimari Mukt'. "I explain

A new study by US-based researchers finds widespread social change and that preference for a girl child continues even after discontinuation of the schemed

Hospital sector insiders say that there is rising demand for specialised maternal and child healthcare services such as obstetrics, gynaecology, infertility, neonatology, and paediatrics

In Southeast Asia alone, 38.04 million lives were saved by vaccines in 2024, compared to 34.82 million in 2020, 15.70 million in 2000, and 5.35 million in 1990

Acc to the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef immunisation report, India follows Nigeria in having the highest number of unvaccinated children, with 1.6 million zero-dose kids in 2023

Genetic defects underlie about a fourth of Chinese children affected by cerebral palsy, and not a lack of oxygen at birth as previously thought, new research has found. Cerebral palsy is a disorder affecting one's ability to move. It is the most common motor disability in children, with symptoms emerging in infancy and early childhood. The disability is sometimes also associated with autism and intellectual deficiencies. Birth asphyxia, or receiving insufficient oxygen at the time of being born, can cause physical harm, especially to the brain, and is considered one of the main causes of cerebral palsy. The world's largest study of cerebral palsy genetics, involving more than 1,500 affected Chinese children, found that mutations were significantly higher in a fourth of these children receiving insufficient oxygen at birth. Researchers said this indicated that birth asphyxia could be secondary to the underlying genetic defects. The results, published in the journal Nature Medicine

India has emerged as a premier destination for conducting global clinical trials, an Indian bureaucrat who is also a Harvard scholar has said, asserting that the pharma industry must recognise the country's intrinsic value as a primary location rather than relegating it to a secondary backup role. Speaking at a recent Bio-Pharma summit in Boston, Dr Mrinalini Darswal, an Indian diplomat who is currently a PhD scholar at Harvard University, said that India "boasts a robust infrastructure, a cadre of seasoned investigators, and cost-effectiveness, collectively rendering it an appealing choice for such endeavours. The present aspirational India under the strong and transformative leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as a premier destination for conducting global clinical trials, having streamlined its regulatory framework and elevated its compliance standards to align with international good clinical practices, Darswal said. This starkly contrasts larger economies

Overall life expectancy has declined compared to 10 years ago though

Years of conflict and crises in Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen have shattered economies along with all the systems children rely on to survive and thrive

SRS data shows that infant mortality in rural areas had declined faster than urban centres between 2011-15; the situation has reversed again in favour of urban areas

This Children's day, teach your child the rights laid down by the Constitution of India specifically for them

Some insurers may allow adding child to family floater health plan any time, otherwise do it at the time of renewal

In Odisha, stunting--low height for age and a sign of malnutrition--reduced from 46.5% of children below five years in 2005-06 to 35.3% in 2015-16

Using a model based on the World Health Organization's Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) principles, SNEHA tackles gaps in nutrition

The highest percentage of babies with low birth weights was reported from the national capital territory of Delhi

Only 55% children are exclusively breastfed for six months

Every year, India loses 500,000 children under the age of 2 due to diseases preventable by vaccines