Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
IN THE old days, the job of eradicating disease fell to governments and inter-governmental bodies. Then charities, often led by celebrities or entrepreneurs, joined in. Finally, in the Western world at least, governments accepted the need to pool their efforts with those of private donors, big and small. The effort …
More than 5,000 women die every year in Gujarat due to pregnancy complications in remote and tribal areas. The state, which faces an acute shortage of qualified gynaecologists in public health facilities, devised the Chiranjeevi Yojana wherein women below poverty line can go to empanelled private nursing homes at the …
The Government of Nepal, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and UK Department of International Development (DFID) jointly launched the findings of 2009 Maternal Mortality and Morbidity study on Monday.The current study is the follow-up of the 1998 Maternal Mortality and Morbidity study done to investigate factors associated with maternal …
A Human Rights Watch report emphasises the need for a system of recording and investigating all maternal deaths. A scene inside the Government Maternity Hospital in Kothi, Andhra Pradesh. In this file photograph, two lactating mothers, with their babies, are seen sharing the same bed. The lack of proper post-natal …
Public-private partnership to make healthcare is an initiative to reach out to the unreached, accessible, accountable and affordable for vulnerable sections of society Private Public Partnership (PPP) is not a very recent concept but of late it has gained momentum throughout the world. Initially, it was limited to the finance …
On 12th April 2005, the then PM launched NRHM to provide accessible, affordable and quality care to the rural population, especially the vulnerable sections. It also seeks to reduce the Maternal Mortality Rate MMR from 407 to 100 per 1 lakh live births, Infant Mortality Rate IMR from 60 to …
Despite efforts by the government to arrest the alarming maternal mortality rate (MMR) in India, progress has been very slow in the past few years. Outlook has now learnt the government is considering taking a leaf out of Bangladesh
Preeclampsia is a major complication of pregnancy that can lead to substantial maternal and perinatal morbidity, mortality, and preterm birth. Increasing evidence suggests that air pollution adversely affects pregnancy outcomes. Yet few studies have examined how local traffic-generated emissions affect preeclampsia in addition to preterm birth. The objective of this …
Atrazine and other corn herbicides are routinely detected in drinking water. Two studies on potential association of atrazine with small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and preterm birth prevalence found inconsistent results. Moreover, these studies did not control for individual-level potential confounders. This retrospective cohort study evaluated whether atrazine in drinking water is associated …
Liesl Gerntholtz The government should recognise that good healthcare, including maternal healthcare, is a basic right. The picture shows a maternity ward in a government hospital, Bhopal I gave birth in the developing world, in South Africa, to be precise. South Africa was in the spotlight recently when a government-commissioned …
Worldwide an estimated 7.9 million or more babies are born each year with a birth defect. The causes of birth defects remain largely a mystery, although a few culprits, including some environmental agents, have been identified as contributing factors. Reliable numbers for both types of defects and cases remain unclear, …
A description of diseases and injuries and the risk factors that cause them is vital for health decision-making and planning. Data on the health of popu
Following the recent death of four pregnant women in the state due to H1N1, the state government has begun drafting a new treatment protocol for these high-risk patients. Health officials will be collecting swab samples of pregnant patients reporting to the screening centres and those will be
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was used worldwide until the 1970s, when concerns about its toxic effects, its environmental persistence, and its concentration in the food supply led to use restrictions and prohibitions. In 2001, more than 100 countries signed the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) , committing to eliminate the …
