-The Times of India About 38 million people in India (which is more than Canada's population) fall below the poverty line every year due to healthcare expenses, of which 70% is on purchase of drugs. Yet, the much-awaited drug price control order (DPCO) 2013, meant to control the price of medicines does not cover over 80% of the medicines in the market. Many drugs crucial for India's disease profile have been...
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UN health agency issues new guidelines for treating severe acute child malnutrition
-The United Nations The United Nations health agency today released new treatment guidelines for the almost 20 million children under the age of five worldwide who have severe acute malnutrition, including options for allowing them to recover at home, as well as treating those with HIV. "The guidelines are critical because many national health plans currently overlook children with severe acute malnutrition. This can be fatal. If these children don't get the...
More »Questions about India’s drug industry-Narayan Lakshman
-The Hindu Unless a deeper, institutional change is ushered in to break the nexus between drug companies and the regulatory regime, Indians consuming drugs may be exposing themselves to serious risks Even before I walked into the Mayflower Hotel in the heart of Washington on a crisp autumn afternoon to meet Dinesh Thakur, whistle-blower and former director of India-based pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy, I had a hunch that this conversation would spark some...
More »Tuberculosis gains at risk due to millions of missed patients, drug resistance –UN report
-The United Nations Treatment has saved the lives of more than 22 million people with tuberculosis (TB), according to a new report by the United Nations health agency that also reveals that the number of deaths from the disease fell to 1.3 million last year. The Global Tuberculosis Report 2013, published today by the World Health Organization (WHO), confirms that the world is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)...
More »Malnutrition, not hunger, ails India -Arvind Virmani and Charan Singh
-Live Mint According to Unicef, India houses one-third of the stunted, wasted and malnourished children of the world Malnutrition is a persistent problem in India, though it is often confused with hunger. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about 18% of India's population was undernourished in 2012. Undernourishment is the main cause of children's deaths, and according to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), India houses one-third of the stunted,...
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