The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today issued new guidelines for malaria treatment, marking the first time the agency has released guidance on procuring safe and effective medicines to treat the disease. The agency warned that if not used properly, artemisinin-based combination therapy, known as ACTs, which have transformed treatment in recent years, could become ineffective. “The world now has the means to rapidly diagnose malaria and treat it...
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Kerala's love affair with alcohol
People in the southern state of Kerala are the heaviest drinkers in India, and sales of alcohol are rising fast. The BBC's Soutik Biswas examines why. Jacob Varghese says he began drinking when he was nine years old, sipping on his father's unfinished whisky and brandy in glass tumblers. It's a terrifying story of a descent into alcoholism for this 40-year-old health inspector. At school, he consumed cheap local liquor. He...
More »India launches new drive against pregnancy deaths by Geeta Pandey
A new campaign to create awareness about maternal mortality in India has been launched. Campaigners say that 78% of maternal deaths are avoidable. An Indian woman dies every seven minutes during pregnancy or childbirth. "Play Your Part" aims to bring the families and communities together to stop 65,000 maternal deaths every year. Campaigners say a lack of health facilities coupled with the lower social status of the women affected are to...
More »Low Pulse by Savvy Soumya Misra
Spiralling prices of pulses have shown India’s dependence on imports. Pulses are integral to India’s diet but not its food policy. As a result, supply cannot meet demand. What are the consequences and solutions? Surendra Nath has switched to eating grass-pea, though he knows it is not good for health. But so is tobacco, he argues. He cannot do without pulses and pigeon-pea selling at Rs 100 a kg is beyond...
More »UN seeks to cut preventable ‘lifestyle’ deaths in developing world
With often preventable, non-communicable diseases such as heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory illness accounting for 60 per cent of all global deaths, experts from around the world gathered at a United Nations forum today to draw up plans to reverse the trend. Solutions exist to prevent premature deaths from such diseases by cutting tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol, yet the...
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