-The Hindu Poor nutritional outcomes in NFHS-5 show that a piecemeal approach does not work The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has released data fact sheets for 22 States and Union Territories (UTs) based on the findings of Phase I of the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5). The 22 States/ UTs don’t include some major States such as Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. While the...

-The Hindu Business Line Fiscal policy in India has been very timid amidst harsh, inefficient (in terms of public Health outcomes) lockdown spells. Unless this changes, the economy may dive further As India faces the biggest economic crisis since Independence, it is being led by a central government in denial about the severity of the impact on lives and livelihoods, and spreading false hopes about the immediate future. The Monthly Economic Report of...

-The Hindu A stronger health system in a country can lead to better outcomes on the economic growth front When public health sneezes, the economy catches cold. Dire predictions for the post-COVID-19 global economy have come from the International Monetary Fund, which called the present crisis the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Grim forebodings for the Indian economy have been sounded by many distinguished economists and the Governor of the Reserve...

-Down to Earth Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic pushes government to act on reforms of food systems with urgency Food systems must be inclusive, local and diverse to address food security and malnutrition and build economic and climate resilience, according to the latest 2020 Global Nutrition Report. The report — released by the Stakeholder group — placed equity as the cornerstone of all efforts to overcome global malnutrition and insisted on policy...

-The Telegraph Longer the lockdowns last, more severe the economic costs The rapid progression of the Covid-19 infection from China to some, and then most, countries is an unprecedented global shock. Its full-blown eruption was characterized pandemic by the WHO last week. Markets have been tailspinning since and the virus ructions have challenged governments’ ability to retain control and stay ahead of the curve to manage the pandemic. The central response worldwide...