India was on Tuesday felicitated by the World Health Organisation for the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem, making it the third country in the region after Nepal and Myanmar to achieve this feat. The WHO also felicitated Bhutan for achieving interim targets for cervical cancer elimination, Maldives and Sri Lanka for Hepatitis B control in children, Timor-Leste for eliminating lymphatic filariasis and six countries for achieving SDG and global targets for reducing under-five mortality and stillbirth rates. "India's success is due to the strong leadership of its government and the commitment of ophthalmologists and other cadres of health-care workers. "They worked together with partners to ensure effective surveillance, diagnosis and management of active trachoma, provision of surgical services for trichiasis, and promotion of water, sanitation and hygiene, particularly facial cleanliness, among communities," said Saima Wazed, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia, a
An expert group constituted by Niti Aayog to prepare a framework for future pandemic preparedness has suggested enacting separate legislation to handle public health crises. The report titled 'Future Pandemic Preparedness and Emergency Response - A Framework for Action' said learning from the experience of COVID-19, the experts have realised that responding in the first 100 days of an outbreak is crucial for effective management. "A separate Public Health Emergency Management Act (PHEMA) is proposed to facilitate the management of any public health crisis. "The PHEMA can address various aspects beyond epidemics, including non-communicable diseases, disasters, and bio-terrorism, and should be in place for a developed country," it said. It will allow a holistic approach to health management, covering prevention, control, and disaster response, the report added. "The Act would also provide for the creation of skilled public health cadres at national and state levels," it said. The r
The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to address the challenges pertaining to underutilisation of public healthcare facilities and missed diagnosis on priority
Former ICMR scientist Raman Gangakhedkar said the risk is highest after the initial dose, eventually decreasing with subsequent doses
Government doctors in Haryana went on a strike on Friday to press their demands for formation of a specialist cadre and a reduction in the bond amount for postgraduate courses, impacting outpatient department (OPD) services in some hospitals. This is the second time this week that government doctors in the state have gone on a strike. They first went on a strike on Wednesday. They resumed emergency duties after they were assured that a meeting will be arranged between the health minister and representatives of the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMS), a body representing government doctors in Haryana which is leading the protest. The HCMS had on Wednesday said that doctors would go on an indefinite strike from Friday with a complete shutdown of all services if the government did not accept their demands. Among the doctors' demands are formation of a specialist cadre for doctors, reduction in the bond amount for postgraduate courses and a dynamic assured career progress
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday launched the third phase of the state's flagship health scheme - Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY). Patnaik said with this third phase of expansion, it is estimated that over 1.10 crore families, covering nearly 90 per cent of the state's population will be provided health assurance under BSKY. The chief minister said that the BSKY will ensure that no family in Odisha is left vulnerable due to lack of financial resources to meet high expenditure for critical illnesses. The families left out in the first two phases of the BSKY, would be covered in the third phase, Patnaik said while launching the new 'BSKY Nabin Card' for the beneficiaries. "We are now launching the third phase of BSKY, where all left-out families of rural areas of our state will be assured of cashless health service in private hospitals, for all critical ailments," Patnaik said. Stating that the BSKY scheme was launched five years ago to provide health assurance to a
Poonam Khetrapal Singh called it imperative to foster collaboration among many sectors and stakeholders involved in the domains of human, terrestrial, and aquatic animal and plant health
The government considers mental health an important public health concern, and the work on it from boosting facilities to training doctor and other experts, is being done in a "mission mode" under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister Bharti Pravin Pawar said on Wednesday. Addressing a national conference on mental healthcare hosted by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) at Vigyan Bhawan here, she also lamented that the society still does not look at mental health in the right way. She asserted that it is critical to remove the stigma that prevents individuals from seeking help. "Mental health is an integral part of our health as it affects all aspects of our lives," the Union Minister of State for Health said, adding that it affects people cutting across age, sex, social and economic status of individuals. She said according to a National Mental Health Survey of India conducted through NIMHANS, Bengaluru in 2016, the prevalence of mental disorders
The formal end of the national Public Health Emergency on Thursday is largely a symbolic and psychological step, representing the country's formal emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic. But behind the scenes, several core aspects of America's pandemic-era emergency safety net are also coming to a close, from extra food assistance to automatic re-enrolment in Medicaid. While these measures were always designed to be temporary, their expiration is inevitably producing hardship and confusion. People are starting to get their jobs back, but it's still not all the way back and everything is more expensive than before the pandemic, said Radha Muthiah, president of the Capital Area Food Bank. The people we serve always seem to be playing catch-up. At Thursday's White House briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took note of the end of the public health emergency. The work won't stop, she said, with the administration working to ensure continued access to COVID vaccines, treatments and
The World Health Organization will mark its 75th anniversary on World Health Day on April 7. The theme for World Health Day 2023 is "Health for All"
Maternal Mortality Ratio has declined from 130 per lakh live births in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20, according to a special bulletin released by the office of the Registrar General of India. According to the data, Assam has the highest Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 195 while Kerala has the lowest of 19 per lakh live births. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya attributed the improvement in the country's MMR to the Narendra Modi government's various healthcare initiatives. Maternal mortality in a region is a measure of the reproductive health of women in the area. Many women of reproductive age die due to complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth or abortion, the Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India 2018-20 said. The present bulletin provides the level of maternal mortality for the period 2018-2020. According to World Health Organization, "Maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of .
Investment activity in the health care space has not slowed down due to the Covid-19 pandemic
Current approach to be based in common parameters, goals and analysis, as opposed to earlier exercises done on the basis of some research or state-specific issues
The team will collaborate with the State health authorities in instituting public health measures for Dengue management in Firozabad, Agra and Etawah districts
The Biden administration said on Thursday that the COVID-19 public health emergency will continue through January 11 as officials brace for a spike in cases this winter. The decision comes as the pandemic has faded from the forefront of many people's minds. Daily deaths and infections are dropping and people many of them maskless are returning to schools, work and grocery stores as normal. The public health emergency, first declared in January 2020 and renewed every 90 days since, has dramatically changed how health services are delivered. The declaration enabled the emergency authorisation of COVID vaccines, testing and treatments for free. It expanded Medicaid coverage to millions of people, many of whom who will risk losing that coverage once the emergency ends. It temporarily opened up telehealth access for Medicare recipients, enabling doctors to collect the same rates for those visits and encouraging health networks to adopt telehealth technology. Since the beginning of thi
It also underlined that anyone can catch the virus if they have had prolonged or repeated contact with an infected individual.
Due to the constantly emerging new Covid-19 variants, the currently available vaccines may not be as effective
Stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus, says WHO Director General
Delhi and Kerala have 3 district hospitals per district; Uttar Pradesh has two. Telangana has one hospital for five districts
At present, 15 VRDLs are equipped to test for monkeypox, including the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune