Malaria is a mass killer, taking just under 800,000 lives a year. Most of them are babies and children under five. A significant number are pregnant women. It is an entirely preventable disease, caused by a parasite transmitted by mosquito bite, but the millions who live under its curse are too poor and have too few options to be able to avoid it. The malaria vaccine [ See: “Malaria vaccine partly...

In a major breakthrough Tuesday, researchers announced that the vaccine candidate RTS,S reduces the risk of malaria by half in children ages five to 17 months, first results from a continuing phase three trial showed. The results have tremendous implications, as malaria is responsible for nearly 800,000 deaths annually. The disease kills one child every 45 seconds in Africa, where it accounts for approximately 20 percent of childhood deaths, according to...

-The Business Standard   It appears a committee headed by Planning Commission member Arun Maira examining the case for continued unrestricted foreign direct investment (FDI) in the pharmaceutical industry has opted to oppose the move to change the present regime. The only concession it is willing to make to the health and commerce ministries’ demand that approval of such investment be routed through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board is to ask for...

Announcement comes ahead of London conference on fundraising for global immunisation programmes A promise to reduce the prices of vaccines in developing countries has been announced by a number of big drug companies, ahead of a conference in London at which political leaders will consider how to raise funds for immunisation. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi), set up by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, said yesterday that Serum Institute of...

Cash transfers are now suggested by many as a silver bullet for addressing the problems that plague India’s anti-poverty programmes. This article argues instead for evidence-based policy and informed public debate to clarify the place, prospects and problems of cash transfers in India. By drawing on key empirical findings from academic and grey literature across the world an attempt is made to draw attention to three aspects of cash transfers...